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Appoquinimink officials warn of rapid autism-program growth; district planning classroom expansions
Summary
District special-education leaders told the board the RISE program for students with an autism classification has grown quickly and will require more classrooms at middle- and high-school levels; funding covers student services but not additional building square footage.
Jessica Spence, the district senior coordinator for instructional programming in special education, told the Appoquinimink School Board on April 8 that the district’s RISE program—designed for students with an educational classification of autism—has expanded rapidly and will require additional classrooms and planning over the next several years.
Spence said the district opened RISE in the 2019–20 school year with five classrooms serving about 25 students; by the 2025–26 school year the program is projected to serve roughly 80 students in 31 classrooms. The district currently runs RISE classrooms in nine buildings and has had to expand some classrooms’ enrollment and add sections to meet demand.
“The growth and enrollment in our RISE program has required us to max out classrooms at seven…
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