March 2-6 was Exceptional Children’s Week and the theme was “Raising the Bar.” In Fayette County, we serve over 1,800 special needs students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.

At the Exceptional Children’s department, we would like the citizens of Fayette County to know that we appreciate everyone involved in educating our exceptional children.

To our bus drivers and monitors, you are the first and last to see our students each day. Thank you for transporting our children safely and for the kindness and caring that you show them.

To our teachers, thank you for your dedication to teaching our students the academic and life skills to have the best future possible. You have a heart for these children to help them reach their goals in spite of the burden of paperwork as well as ever-changing state and federal regulations.

To our paraprofessionals, thank you for caring for our kids as if they were their own. You are often the ones who help them when they go into the regular school environment and keep them focused and help practice what they have learned.

To the speech, physical, occupational and behavior therapists, thank you for your dedication and expertise in your fields. You assist our children in making advances in the basic functions of daily life.

To LEAs, thank you for pulling double duty by keeping up with everyone’s IEPs and schedules while teaching classes or performing speech therapy. You too are burdened with paperwork and the ever-changing state and federal regulations.

To the regular education collaborative teachers, thank you for sharing your students with us. You do the extra work to ensure that these exceptional children have the skills to advance to the next level.

To the administration at each school, thank you for your dedication to our children and the accommodations and space that you provide in your schools. Without your cooperation, we would not be able to have a smooth school day for our children.

To the students in regular education, you are the example of typical behavior that these children see. You show them what to do and when to do it. Make sure that it is the right example. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

To the business community, you welcome our older students for community-based instruction. We thank you for your willingness to give our students the opportunity to practice what they learn in the classroom.

And last but not least, to the parents of our exceptional children, thank you for your often relentless pursuit of the best for your child. Your hours are long. Your strength and energy may be short. But your courage and perseverance are always great.

To those we have mentioned and those we have not, we appreciate all of those who have an influence on our children each and every day.

Margaret Spellings once said, “Too many students with disabilities have faced the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Let us now raise the bar for our exceptional children.

Allison Stevenson

Parent mentor for Exceptional Children’s Services for Fayette County Schools

stevenson.allison@fcboe.org