The Special Services Department has changed its name to the Student Services Department. The new name more accurately represents the wide range of students reached by the department, including students with and without disabilities, and reflects the department’s increasing ability to support atypical learning styles.

According to SSPAC Chair Becky Owens, this is a timely change coming on the heels of the recent Special Education Audit findings. “Changing the name to Student Services denotes not only the change in culture that we are trying to build in all of our schools, but also de-stigmatizes the services available under the old ‘special education’ department,” says Owens. Instead, she notes, Student Services connotes tools and assistance that are available to every student in the district, including RTI and universal accommodations such as Snap and Read, Co-Writer, and Bookshare.

To carry out this work for all students, the department has also added two administrators to work under Executive Director Patrick Tomblin. Linda Moon will serve as Assistant Director for Academics and Jim Sanders will fill the role of Assistant Director for Behavior and Social Emotional Learning.