By Superintendent Leigh Anne Wenning
Here at the Shelby County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the month of May means graduations for us too. Not only are we celebrating our Shelby Hills Preschool graduates, but we are celebrating the students we work with in schools all over Shelby County who are graduating.
For Shelby Hills Preschool, we were grateful to be able to hold in-person graduations this year for the students heading to Kindergarten next year. We had 83 graduates from Shelby Hills Preschool this year, from our Sidney Center, as well as our satellites at Anna, Hardin-Houston and Fort Loramie. Attending these events is always such a joy for me. I love seeing the proud families, and I especially love seeing students of all abilities coming up to get their certificates. The value of inclusivity is a foundation in everything we do at the Shelby County Board of DD and something that shows in our preschool program.
Our Shelby Hills education team includes teachers, aides, therapists, administration and our nurse. Each employee has worked tirelessly and creatively all year to ensure that our students could safely attend preschool in-person. From temperature checks, health screenings, face shields and masks, we not only made it through, but we did it successfully! Thank you to the entire team at Shelby Hills Preschool for an excellent year!
We also celebrate the graduations of the many individuals our team serves throughout the county this month. This often means that these individuals move into the world of adulthood, sometimes moving out on their own and seeking employment. These are services that the Shelby County Board of DD can assist with. Our service and support administration department will assess the needs of the individual to determine the type of living situation and supports needed and how to implement them. This can often mean helping the family determine if they need additional supports in the home with daily living needs, adjusting the individual support plan to reflect the person-centered services and coordinating additional supports like Medicaid and Social Security.
Additionally, our community education and outreach department can connect the individual with appropriate volunteer or vocational networks to obtain skills in order to be successful long-term in the world of work. This may mean job coaching or referrals to organizations like Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, or working with one of our day program provider partners in the area.
The Shelby County Board of DD also wants to thank all of the teachers in Shelby County for making it through a challenging year like no other. We appreciate everything you do to support students across the county with and without disabilities succeed.
For more information on the Shelby County Board of Developmental Disabilities and services we provide, please check out our website at www.shelbydd.org or call us at 937-497-8155. Also, follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shelbydd.org.