Westside Elementary School was recognized last Friday, Feb. 26, by the Tennessee Department of Education as an Exemplary Education Program in Special Education.

The honor, presented at the close of the Special Education Conference in Nashville, was presented to Westside principal, David Flynn, by Joe Fisher, Assistant Commissioner of Education.

The award recognizes Westside School’s implementation of a schoolwide inclusion program for students with special needs.

The school’s inclusion program brings special education teachers and assistants into the regular classroom where students receive assistance in meeting state standards there instead of leaving the classroom and being taught separately from their peers in a resource classroom.

To be considered for the award, a school visit was conducted by Fisher and Middle Tennessee Special Education Coordinator, Bob Blair. During the visit, classrooms were visited and teachers interviewed about the school’s inclusion process. A study of test score data based on the school’s TCPA scores was also conducted.

Westside’s progress in working with students with identified special needs was a significant factor in the award decision as the school has demonstrated dramatic improvement going from 89% below proficient in 2005 to only 14 percent below proficient in 2009. Westside Elementary School and seven other schools in the state of Tennessee were honored during the awards ceremony at this year’s conference.

Flynn would like to express his gratitude to the school’s faculty and staff whose willingness to “step outside the box” and try this new approach to instruction led to this honor. He would also like to thank Macon County Special Education Supervisor Wynona Clayborne for her support and guidance as this program has been phased into the school.

Finally, Flynn would like to express his sincere appreciation to Director of School’s Dan Hampton for his support of Westside School and for taking the time to drive to Nashville to be on hand for the awards presentation.