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West Noble middle school restores emotional-disability program to keep students with their cohort
Summary
West Noble officials said the district restored its middle-school emotional-disability (ED) program this year to provide continuity and social-skills support; administrators named staffing, current enrollment and projected placements and said the aim is reintegration into general education classes.
Ashley, the West Noble middle school principal, told the school board the district reinstated its emotional-disability (ED) program at the middle school this year after the service had been based off-site for several years.
"This team is doing amazing things to get those kids ready to be with their gened peers," Ashley said, identifying lead teacher Gretchen Shat and paraprofessionals Abby Cox and Freya Sudden as the classroom team.
The principal provided current and projected counts by grade: five- and sixth-grade rosters include several students ("fifth grade we had six plus one homebound; sixth grade we had three plus one on consult"), seventh grade had two with one under evaluation, and an eighth grader newly qualified in March. Officials said most sixth- through eighth-grade students attend general-education classes for science and social studies, with the ED classroom used for math and language arts in a few cases while the program supports social-skill development and transitions back to the mainstream classroom.
Board member Parish asked how families are routed into the ED process. Ashley said screening begins at the school level and families are referred into a special-education evaluation; the ED services are provided through a special-ed co-op that historically placed West Noble students in neighboring districts, and bringing the program back aims to keep students with their cohort and improve graduation prospects.
District leaders said the return of the program means some students who would previously have traveled to Central Noble or Churubusco for services can now remain at West Noble and progress toward graduation with their peers. "Our goal is to end up on consult," Ashley said, describing consult as the step when students no longer require daily ED-room instruction.
The board did not take formal action on the program during the meeting; administrators said staffing and placement data will continue to be tracked and reported to the board.
