Who We Are
MDE School is a non-profit private special needs school that serves K – 12 students with developmental delays who cannot succeed in a traditional educational setting. We help special needs students reach their full potential by providing individualized education, enrichment, and life skills training in a nurturing environment.
MDE School employs highly skilled teachers with many years of experience working with children with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, communication disorders, and learning differences. Our unique approach allows every student to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.
A Place to Grow Through Young Adulthood
MDE School takes the stress out of transitioning your child into adulthood. When MDE School students are ready, they can graduate to MDE Vocational Academy, located on our campus. MDE Vocational Academy serves young adults with special needs aged 16 – 22. The curriculum focuses on vocational, life, and social skills and offers a range of enrichment activities.
MDE Preschool Coming in August of 2024
MDE School is proud to launch an inclusive preschool program in the fall of 2024. We will welcome special needs and neurotypical students aged two through four years old. The foundation of our program will be a low student-to-teacher ratio. We aim to develop a lifelong love of learning in our students and prepare them for a successful social and academic transition to kindergarten.
Why Choose MDE School?
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Special needs students learn best in a classroom with a low student-to-teacher ratio. The fewer students each teacher works with, the more closely they can adapt teaching to the student’s specific learning styles in the class. Low student-to-teacher ratios also allow our teachers to offer help to students in ways that would be impossible in a larger classroom.
1:1
Instruction
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Teaching one-on-one with students allows our teachers to adjust the task’s difficulty to the student’s skill level. This optimizes skill mastery and lowers student frustration. Instruction is direct, with explicit modeling and guided practice activities. The more individual attention students receive, the more their learning improves and the higher their chances for academic success.
Flexible Classroom
Atmosphere
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Our small classroom structure allows our teachers to understand the learning style of each student in their class and adjust accordingly. Students can complete activities in a way that will enable them to harness their strengths. A relaxed classroom atmosphere allows for a combination of instruction methods, including small group work and one-on-one instruction. Teachers can address sensory and behavioral sensitives to optimize the classroom atmosphere.
Multisensory Teaching
Approach
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A multisensory teaching approach is especially effective for students who learn and think differently. Using multiple senses gives our students more than one way to connect and understand concepts.
Behavioral
Support
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From time to time, students may engage in unideal behavior in the classroom setting. Our teachers are trained to calmly address and diffuse these situations using techniques that work best for that particular child.
Individual Education
Plan
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The IEP is the cornerstone of every child’s education at MDE School. We work closely with you and your child’s teacher to establish current performance levels and educational goals while establishing support for your child in the classroom.
Collaborate with Other Professionals
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We are open to collaborating with your child’s speech, physical and behavioral therapists to support things your child is working on in therapy. We have found that consistently reinforcing behaviors between the school, therapy, and home environment leads to the most progress for your child.
Therapy Available
On-Site
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MDE School is proud to share the campus with Greater Atlanta Speech and Language Clinic, where your child can receive speech, occupational, and physical therapies during the school day.
It is often beneficial for the students to receive therapy on-site to assist with attention and focus, sensory regulation/stimulation, and goal continuity. All therapists and teachers have a team approach to addressing the needs of each student.
Greater Atlanta Speech and Language Clinic employs a family-centered approach that combines research-based therapy techniques with innovative ideas to create an individualized program for each child.
What Makes MDE School a Special Place?
Watch an Interview With MDE School Executive Director Mindy Elkan.