Student Services

Mission:
The mission of the Exceptional Children’s Department is to provide equal access to free, appropriate public education (FAPE) opportunities for students with disabilities. The staff aims to protect from discrimination against students with disabilities, guaranteeing access to free, appropriate public education. Special Education must meet the unique needs of the child and prepare him or her for further education and independent living.

Calhoun County Public Schools offers a full continuum of special education programs and services. Services may include small group or individualized instruction, assistive technology, and rehabilitation aids such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. 

Empower. Compete. Succeed.

Gifted and Talented

The South Carolina State Board of Education recognizes the need to provide gifted education services to identified students in grades 1-12. Gifted and talented students arethose who are identified in grades 1-12 as demonstrating high performance ability or
potential in academic and/or artistic areas. These students require an educational program beyond that normally provided by the general school program in order to achieve their potential. SC Department of Education.

Calhoun County Public Schools goal for our gifted and talented students is to provide educations services that empower and develop the student’s natural desire for knowledge, develop a sense of understanding of their purpose, nurture creativity, increase self- confidence and foster independence and confidence in their quest for learning. Additionally we want strengthen the whole personality of the student.

Honors Academy

Calhoun County Honors Academy gives students many experience that may influence life choices and how they view the world academically and socially. The Honors Academy consist of a select group of middle grade students who start taking high school courses on the campus of Calhoun County High School. These students have the opportunity to take college courses once
they attend the high school and earn associate degrees from Orangeburg Technical College. Students can also earn dual credits from Orangeburg Technical College and Voorhees University.

Social and Emotional Learning

Calhoun County Public Schools offer programs that teach students how to identify and manage their emotions and behaviors. These programs can be computer-based, or taught by our school counselors or teachers. The district has partners that can provide a continuum of care for mental health, or social and emotional care. We diligently work with our community partners to ensure that all students have the support they need on campus, by telehealth, or off campus. Improving emotional well-being can benefit students’ mental and physical health and contribute to their academic success and social well-being.

Student Services Guides and Forms

The Calhoun County Public Schools acknowledges and supports the rights of all students to receive a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) that will enable them to develop their unique talents and abilities, thus preparing them to participate in and serve their community with dignity and pride. We offer a continuum of services and programs to meet the needs of students with disabilities and assist in molding productive citizens.

Student Services

McKinney Vento

 

The McKinney-Vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness, which includes those who are: sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; staying in motels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to the lack of an adequate alternative; staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings.

 

The district's McKinney-Vento Liason is Dr. Treda Keith-Nelson.  Her contact information is (803) 655-2631 or tkeith@ccpsonline.net

Foster Care

Dr. Treda Keith-Nelson is the contact for our district for Foster Care.

MTSS addresses the needs of the whole child – academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally – through a holistic and personalized system of learning that incorporates academics and social-emotional behaviors into one framework. This approach recognizes the connection between academics and behavior and addresses both areas simultaneously. It enables educators and support professionals to use data to drive their instructional interventions with students, allowing the student the most growth potential.

This process uses interventions that match the skill that needs to be SCMTSS Framework and Guidance Document June 2019 Page 3 addressed, identified through data-driven decision-making and progress monitoring to increase that student’s potential for success and graduating high school, college, and career-ready. This SCMTSS framework is proactive rather than reactive because it is a system that challenges educators and support professionals to be lifelong learners by analyzing current systems and making decisions that will improve instructional approaches.

MTSS aims to deliver early intervention for every student who struggles to attain or maintain grade-level performance by effectively utilizing best instructional practices within an evidence-based instructional model. An ongoing, systematic process of using student data to guide instructional and intervention decisions is required.

SCMTSS is founded on six core principles that are essential for students and educators to succeed:

· Leadership

· Building Capacity and Infrastructure

· Communication and Collaboration

· Data-Based Problem-Solving

· Tiered Instruction

· Data Evaluation