Special Education Department
15480 Three Oaks Road, Three Oaks
Located within the Middle High School building.
FAX: 269-756-3007

Special education programs and services are in place at each of River Valley’s buildings in order to serve the needs of students with disabilities. We also coordinate with Berrien RESA and several other area school districts to provide programs and services to those having specific needs which cannot be addressed at the local buildings.

At the elementary schools, the majority of special education programing takes place in the resource room. In the resource room setting, students receive intensive intervention and instruction in a small group or one-on-one setting designed to best meet the student’s needs.

Within the middle high school, programing is a hybrid of resource room instruction and full inclusion classes. In an inclusion class, students with disabilities are educated alongside their general education peers by River Valley’s highly qualified content area teachers following the Michigan curriculum. Special education teachers co-teach in these classes, providing support and accommodations designed to promote academic success.

The State of Michigan has created a required high school curriculum (Michigan Merit Curriculum) which students must complete in order to receive a high school diploma. Students unable to complete the Michigan Merit Curriculum may have a Personal Curriculum, which still meets the graduation requirements. Not all personal curriculums will result in a diploma. Students not receiving a diploma may receive a certificate of completion. For further help with high school graduation requirements, contact the high school guidance counselor.

River Valley provides speech and language therapy services for all district residents, from age three through 12th grade. Speech services are provided at all district school buildings in a small group or one-on-one setting.

Parents who suspect their child may have a disability may submit a written request for evaluation. >Parent Request Form

Process for Determining LD Eligibility
For determining the existence of a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) in Special Education our district will use a process of analyzing a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses. For more detailed information on this process please consult the Berrien Regional Education Service Agency web site.

If you have specific questions regarding any of the special education programs and services, or for a print copy of the Special Education Procedural Safeguards, please contact the special education supervisor.