Special Education is referred to as “specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.”  The East Troy Community School District provides a wide range of services and supports to meet these unique needs.  Our Special Education staff consists of ten special education teachers, three speech language pathologists, three school psychologists, fourteen paraprofessionals and an Occupational Therapist.  A Physical Therapist also provides services through the Walworth County Children with Disabilities Education Board (WCCDEB).  The Cooperative Education Service Agency 2 (CESA 2) provides supports and services for students with “low incidence” disabilities such as vision and hearing impairments.   

Our special education team is proud to offer several unique learning opportunities for students with disabilities.  Life Skills classes at the primary and secondary levels help students learn to be independent by practicing safety, shopping, cleaning, cooking and other independent living skills.  Read180 is a researched-based intervention where middle and high school students receive small group instruction and individualized computerized lessons to improve reading skills.  For our youngest learners (ages 3 and 4), speech-language therapists provide individualized or small group instruction twice weekly in Phonology Group.  Students who participate in this group learn the relationships between letter sounds, word sounds and speech through games, stories songs and hands on activities.

There are many other opportunities available to students with disabilities in the East Troy Community School District.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires districts to provide each child with a disability Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  In East Troy, we work hard to ensure students with disabilities have the same access to all of the curricular and extra-curricular opportunities as their non-disabled peers.  To discuss further special education services in the East Troy School District, please feel free to contact Katherine Lieske Harder, Director of Special Education.