Due to the high demand for Kindergarten and 1st grade, AZACS is dedicating its former Upper School Building on Indian School Road exclusively to our youngest students.
We have assembled a dream team to lead our Early Learning Center (see photo on right) including:
- Patrick Masson (far right) who will lead the Center as an Assistant Director. Patrick has been working with students with autism since graduating from the University of Connecticut in 2009. He worked as an ABA therapist for two years with public school students in Connecticut prior to moving to Arizona in 2011. Patrick was one of AZACS' first teachers and since coming on board he has received his Masters in Special Education from Grand Canyon University and is currently enrolled in a graduate level Educational Leadership program through Northern Arizona University.
- Courtney Burden (middle) will step into the role of ABA Program Manager at the Center. Courtney has a long history teaching students with special needs and considers it her life passion. Last year, Courtney joined us as a Kindergarten teacher having moved from the Boston area where she taught special education using ABA for more than ten years.
- Jacqueline Oates (on left) was just recently brought on board as Special Education Program Manager of the Center. Jacqueline comes to us with a rich background in special education and a unique perspective having spent some time teaching outside of the country. Jacqueline has been a teacher for more than 12 years, working primarily with students with ASD. She has completed her Masters degree in Education with a focus on teaching children with ASD and is a National Board Certified Teacher/Exceptional Needs Specialist.
By opening the Early Learning Center, AZACS will be able to offer four new Kindergarten classrooms and three 1st grade classrooms serving an additional 80 primary students in our first year!
In case you've missed it, our older kids will be moving across the street to a newly constructed state-of-the-art facility (see
here ). We are very excited to grow our capacity to serve more students and families at these two great sites. Stay tuned for pictures and videos of our model classrooms at our new Early Learning Center!
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