Serving Students with Disabilities

Educating children with disabilities is a responsibility of all public schools under state and federal law. Willard City Schools participates in an ongoing effort to identify and serve specific learning disabled (LD), developmentally handicapped (DH), emotionally disturbed/severe behavior handicapped (ED/SBH), multiple disabilities/multihandicapped, hearing impaired, orthopedically handicapped, autistic, traumatic brain injured, vision impaired, other health impaired, speech and language impairment, or preschooler with a disability.

In Willard, we believe that special education is a service rather than a place. We have initiated an Intervention Assistance Team process which involves teachers, administrators, parents, counselors, and specialists in designing interventions to help students with learning and/or behavioral difficulties without necessarily identifying them as disabled special needs students. We provide services to identified special needs students in the same settings cross-categorically regardless of their disabilities as well as providing services to non handicapped, at-risk students as identified through the IAT process.

Inclusion of special needs students in regular classes has become a priority, as we realize that regular education settings provide special needs students stimulation and modeling for learning, as well as opportunities to learn positive social and vocational skills and build self-esteem. Our intervention specialists (special education teachers) are working closely with regular education teachers to provide support for students in inclusionary settings.

To refer a school-aged student for the IAT process and/or a multifactored evaluation to determine whether the child has an educational disability, contact the principal of the building where the student attends school.

To refer a preschool student ages 3-5 for a multifactored evaluation, contact Willard Elementary School at 419-935-5341. Children up to the age of 3 receive services through Mercy Hospital in Willard (419-964-5000) or the Huron County Board of MRDD (Christie Lane) in Norwalk (419-668-8840).

Intervention Assistance Teams (IATs) are problem-solving groups whose purpose is to help teachers help students with learning and/or emotional/behavioral problems.

IATs work to design academic/behavioral interventions and classroom modifications for children with difficulties so that they can be successful in regular or intervention/special education classes.

IATs may also refer students for informal testing to help determine if they may qualify for special education services (for example, Learning Disability, Developmentally Handicapped, Sever Emotionally Disturbed/Severe Behavior Handicapped).

The building principal or assistant principal is the IAT chairperson. Other team members include regular and special education teachers, counselors, and parents and may include school psychologist, special education supervisor, school nurse, speech pathologist, or other persons with knowledge of the student.

A parent, teacher, counselor, or administrator my refer a student for the Intervention Assistance Team. To begin the IAT process, contact your building principal.

Huron County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Christie Lane School and Workshop
306 South Norwalk Road
Norwalk, Ohio 44857
419-668-8840

North Point Educational Service Center
Huron County Office
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, Ohio 44857
419-668-1658