The Knox Educational Service Center provides special education for students ages 3 through 21. Preschool special needs students are served through classroom and home instruction. Special classroom instruction is provided to kindergarten through twelfth grade students who have been identified with emotional disabilities, and for high school students with multiple disabilities. In addition, the ESC’s Transition program provides work and classroom instruction to adult special needs students whose graduation has been delayed, and who are sharpening their skills for life outside of school.
The Knox Learning Center
Special needs students served by the programs of the Knox ESC are enrolled in classrooms at Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon Middle School, and at the Knox Learning Center. The Knox Learning Center also includes classrooms for middle school and high school students in need of credit recovery. Credit recovery students complete online courses under the supervision of Learning Center staff and volunteers.
Both special education and credit recovery students have access to a complete range of educational services, and can complete all coursework required for graduation at the Knox Learning Center. Academic, social, and emotional support for students at the Learning Center is provided by social workers, parent mentors, classroom aides, and teachers employed by the Knox Educational Service Center. Additional student support is provided by probation officers employed at the Knox County Juvenile Court; by counselors and therapists associated with the Knox County Juvenile Court, the Village Network, Behavior Healthcare Partners, and the Freedom Center; by volunteers active in the Knox County Foster Grandparent Program; by student programs at Kenyon College and Mount Vernon Nazarene University; and by community volunteers.