John Welch
Director of Special Services
Email
(330) 497-5665
Julie Stingel
Coordinator of Special Services & Response to Intervention (RtI)
(330) 497-5665
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) provides for a free appropriate public education for all individuals with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21. In order to be responsive to the diverse educational needs of all its students, the Special Services Department of North Canton City Schools provide a continuum of services to be considered in determining the appropriate educational services for each student. The level of need of the student determines the services.
North Canton City Schools Department of Special Services provides support and services to students with disabilities, so that students can gain educational benefit from the curriculum and make continuous progress toward meeting State Standards and curricular goals. The District’s vision and mission drive all programs and services. Thus, in partnership with the community, North Canton City Schools provides balanced and comprehensive programs for all students to realize their potential through best practices to meet the needs of all learners.
Although special education may often be viewed as a legalistic, complex and bureaucratic process, it is first and foremost about the teaching and learning of children. While access to the services can appear to be complicated by a system set up by federal and state laws and guidelines, the process is primarily in place to insure that services will be available to enable all students to make progress toward meeting state and local standards. The Department of Special Services exists to provide services to students who need support accommodations and modifications which may be provided by classroom teachers, intervention specialists, small group instructors, paraprofessionals and/or related service providers.
North Canton City Schools is committed to the idea that all students have access and opportunity to the district’s learning experiences by providing quality programs.
Each year school districts throughout Ohio participate in an effort to identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities, birth through 21; for age birth to 3, an established condition known to result in delay or documented developmental delay; for ages 3 through 21, identification of one or more of the following conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental disability, deaf-blindness, hearing impairment-including deafness, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury and/or visual impairment- including blindness. Parents are not always aware that there are programs and services available for children identified with a disability.
If you know of a child who may have one or more of the above suspected disabilities, including preschool age children, please contact the Special Services Office at (330) 497-5665.