Special Education

Our Team: seated (L to R): Angela Freitag, Jennifer Anderson, Kathy Davidson, Bonnie Masciantonio, Laura Frantz
Standing (L to R): Margaret Sirois, Karla Fallas, Homyra Habibi, Celeste Riccio, Josie McKelvey, Carol Heilveil, Valerie Bowie, Kathy Williams Not pictured: Norma Eigles, Karol Schwarzenberg, Pandora Jones, Trish Fratangelo, Pushpa Kumar, Sikha Sen

Kathy Davidson, Team Leader
Kathy Williams, ALS Teacher
Josie McKelvey, Teacher
Laura Frantz, Teacher
Angela Freitag, Psychologist
Norma Eigles, OT
Valerie Bowie, Speech
Karol Schwarzenberg, PT

Welcome to the Special Education Team Website!

The Vision for Special Education in Howard County has the following beliefs for students with disabilities:

Everyone is united in a common commitment to ensuring success for each child.
Children have access to general education curriculum with high expectations and standards to create a better future for themselves and others.
Everyone works together to set and achieve the highest possible standards, both academic and behavioral, and to be accountable for results.
A shared understanding exists among all staff, students, and families of expectations, roles, and responsibilities.
Special education processes are participant friendly and promote collaboration with a focus on the needs of the child.
Parents and children are heard and understood, and their input is valued.
All staff are valued as professionals for their knowledge, experience, and competence.
Supports and resources are provided to schools, staff, students, and families to meet the assessed needs of children.
A comprehensive range of instructional services is available.
Staff and families are supported and best practices are promoted through comprehensive staff development and family training opportunities.
Services are coordinated with community resources to support children and their families.

The following links may provide additional information about a variety of disabilities:

www.ldonline.org - Learning Disabilities Online
www.ncsd.org - National Council for Support of Disability Issues
www.asha.org - American Speech Language Hearing Association
www.chadd.org - Children and Adults with ADHD
www.add.org - Attention Deficit Disorder
www.autism-society.org - Autism Society
www.thearc.org - The Arc
www.howard-autism.org - Howard County Autism Society
www.archoward.org - ARC of Howard County
www.cec.sped.org - Council for Exceptional Children

Please feel free to email Kathy Davidson, Special Education Instructional Team Leader if you have additional questions or concerns.