In January 2023 McRae-Gaines Learning Center was able to hire a Special Education teacher, Mrs. Harriett Thomas, to work together with consultant Ms. Candice Pettaway to develop the school’s first official program that will address the challenges that McRae’s students with developmental delays face. This position was funded in part with a grant from the Alabama Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Since then, Mrs. Thomas has joined the SPeD Team made up of Director Moss, teacher Sharon Williams, assistant teacher, Marshall McCary, and a Board member to meet twice a month to set up the IEP process, and prioritize the best furnishing, teaching tools and equipment necessary to address the challenges of the current students. Mrs. Thomas and her assistant at that time, met with Dr. Doris Hill, Director of the Regional Autism Network at Auburn University, for training in recent advances in pedagogical methodology for special needs students and subsequently scheduled a training on July 8th for all the teachers at McRae. Twenty teachers and staff attended the training.
The next training objective is to schedule a parent meeting with a panel of experts who will familiarize McRae’s parents with the advances in services for children with developmental delays. The SPeD Team wants to develop an awareness in the McRae-Gaines community of the possibilities that exist for their children with these delays and provide them with important tools to work with their children at home.
At the urging of Dr. Hill, Mrs. Thomas met with the administrations of Selma City Schools and Dallas County Schools to develop a contact for speech therapy/. Three of our current students are unable to speak. Since then, the school has engaged a teacher of sign language.
The latest objective for 2024 is training for Mrs. Thomas and her Assistant in a new program for tracking student progress, including the Special Education student. The program the school invested in is the Renaissance Next program, which provides data, insights, and guidance all in one place so educators can maximize growth for each student.
Mrs. Harriett W. Thomas, our Special Education Teacher, received her Associates Degree in General Education at Selma University in Selma, Alabama, followed by her BS Degree in Disability/Mental Health from Alabama State University, in Montgomery, Alabama. She has 25 years of classroom experience as a Special Education Teacher for the Perry County Board of Education, Marion, AL, October 1979 – May 2004. She then spent 13 years as a Disability/Mental Health Specialist with the Selma-Dallas County Community Action Agency and Head Start.
Mrs. Thomas truly believes that “Everyone has a Chance to Make a Difference.”
As announced, McRae-Gaines Impact and Evaluation Committee has hired Ms. Candice Pettaway, as our Special Education Consultant.
Ms. Pettaway will be responsible for the establishment of special education systems, routines, and processes, training MGLC staff on special education service delivery and progress monitoring and keeping the Board of Directors abreast of all relevant federal, state and local statute requirements.
She possesses deep knowledge of federal, state and local requirements of IDEA, alongside previous experience in the establishment and development of special education practices and processes (reporting, evaluation, etc.).
In her first month on staff, Ms. Pettaway plans to establish an implementation team to develop and solidify a strategic plan for Year 1 implementation that reports to the School Board, consisting of Representatives from the Board of Directors, a School Administrator, a Parent Representative, Part-Time Special Education Instructor and Assistant. Get ready to become engaged!
