TROY — Things have been busy at the Miami County Educational Service Center this year.

We are continuing to see an increase in special education needs with regards to the number of students who require services, as well as the level of support students require, said a report submitted by Miami County ESC Superintendent David Larson. There are also several state initiatives that have caused the organization to expand our service areas.

Larson’s report continues:

We have invested grant funding to support consistency among our many classrooms throughout the county. This includes our special education leadership team participating in training in the TEACCH methodology. This is a program based on understanding the symptoms and learning styles of individuals with autism and the use of visual supports to promote independence and utilize each individual student’s strengths. This method of teaching has been shown to work well with students of all ages and ability levels, whether they are identified with autism or not. We have also partnered with a consultant to work with a few of our primary classrooms to focus on the implementation of visually organized classrooms and structured teaching.

This is the second year that the Miami County ESC has invested grant resources into a comprehensive literacy support program. Our literacy team is working with district staff to develop comprehensive literacy plans, as well as providing required professional development in the area of dyslexia. Literacy is a major focus of the Governor and the Department of Education and Workforce DEW). The Miami County ESC is dedicated to supporting our districts in furthering their goals of ensuring students are reading at grade level. As initiatives in literacy continue to develop, we are committed to providing ongoing support to the students, staff, and districts we serve.

In September 2023, we welcomed two new staff members in the role of Career Connections to the ESC. Liz Sonnanstine and Kristi Voisard were brought onboard through the efforts of the ESC’s Business Advisory Council. The Business Advisory Council (BAC) is a collaboration between the Miami County school districts and businesses to address career pathways and bolster workforce opportunities. The value of this collaboration is to convene education and business leaders to engage in dialogue, build trust and identify strategies that transform the student learning experience. Over the past 5 months, the Career Connections team has met with community business leaders along with school staff and administration to begin evaluating opportunities to improve career awareness, exploration, and planning for the students of Miami County. Here are a few ways we have been active in your schools: career fairs, speed interviews, guest speaking, job shadow placement, career navigation, and aptitude / interest evaluations. We are excited for what these roles will bring to our region to better equip our future workforce!

The major challenge that continues to impact the Miami County ESC is a need for staff. Anyone who has a heart for helping children is encouraged to apply for a position at the Miami County Educaitonal Service Center here: https://www.applitrack.com/dayton/onlineapp/default.aspx?AppliTrackPostingSearch=location:%22Miami+County+ESC%22