Curriculum & Instruction
Page Navigation
- Home
- 2023-2024 Code of Conduct, Character, and Support
- Literacy
- Academically and Intellectually Gifted
- English as a Second Language (ESL)
- AVID
- Career and Technical Education
- Cultural Arts
- Elementary Education
- Exceptional Children
- Registration & Graduation
- Secondary Education
- Title 1
- Orange County School District
- Exceptional Children
Exceptional Children

Child Find
-
If you are new to Orange County and have a child who has been receiving special education services, contact the base school in your attendance area and provide them with documentation of your child's special needs (i.e., a copy of student's Individualized Education Plan). When school is not in session, you may contact the Exceptional Children Office at 919.245.4006.
If you believe your child might be in need of special education and/or related services, you should contact your school principal.
Child Find
What is Project Child Find?
An effort coordinated by your local school system and the Exceptional Children Division, State Department of Public Instruction, to:
- Locate and identify children and youth ages birth through 21 with disabilities who are in need of special education or related services.
- Inform parents and/or guardians of the services available from their local school system and other state and community agencies.
Who Are the Children?
Children and youth who have been diagnosed or are suspected to have intellectual, physical, or emotional disablilities and are unable to benefit from a regular school program without special assistance.
What Help is Available?
- A complete evaluation and, if appropriate,
- An Individualized Education Program for children with a disability beginning at age three,
- An Individual Family Service Plan for each child with a disability birth through 2, or
- A referral to other agencies when needed.
For further information regarding Child Find or if you suspect your student may have a disability and need special education and/or related services, please contact Connie Crimmins at connie.crimmins@orange.k12.nc.us or (919) 245-4006 extension 18001.
Parent Resources
-
Staff Directory
Staff Directory
Connie Crimmins
Executive Director, Exceptional Children and Pre-K Services
E-mail Connie CrimminsMaryellen Gollnick
Director, Exceptional Children and Pre-K Services
E-mail Maryellen GollnickThea Wilson
EC/Pre-K Program Specialist
E-mail Thea Wilson
919-245-4006 ext. 18002Emma Kaltz
Administrative Assistant
E-mail Emma Kaltz
919-245-4006 x18010See the complete EC staff directory
-
NC Exceptional Children Website
NC Exceptional Children Website: The mission of the Exceptional Children Division is to ensure that students with disabilities develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and vocationally through the provision of an appropriate individualized program in the least restrictive environment.
-
Procedural Safeguards: Handbook on Parents' Rights
Procedural Safeguards: Handbook on Parents Rights (rev. 2016)/Garantias de Procedimiento Manual de Derechos de Los Padres: This handbook is designed to support families with the understanding of the rights and responsibilities specific to the special education process. Acronyms and terms often used in special education and resources can be found in the appendices. If, at any time, you suspect your student may have a disability and is in need of special education and/or related services, you may request an evaluation, in writing, to your student’s school principal, teacher, or Orange County Schools EC Department.
-
Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities
-
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for Families
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for Families
What is NC MTSS?
Family engagement within an MTSS is defined as the active and meaningful partnerships that educators build and maintain with students’ families for the purpose of supporting student learning. It embodies the idea that all parties are equally invested in the student’s educational experience and all parties bring knowledge and skills of equal value to the table to work together.This linked infographic is intended to support NC families in understanding what NC educators are referring to when they are talking about an MTSS.
What is "support"?
NC schools that are implementing an MTSS may talk about support for students. To further define that support, NC organizes these supports around the instruction, the curriculum, and the environment.This linked infographic is intended to promote understanding and conversations around how school teams are providing these supports to all, some, and a few students based on needs.
-
NC DPI Exceptional Children Parent Resources
Additional Links
-
Orange County Exceptional Children Pre-Kindergarten
Orange County Related Services Directory
Testing Students with Disabilities Handbook
IEP (Individualized Education Plan)
Family Support Program
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Social Work
325 Pittsboro Street
CB #3550
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550
800.852.0042Cardinal Innovations Child Welfare Program
09.01.21 The Mental Health Needs of Students During COVID-19- A Parent Perspective
09.01.21 UNC School of Social Work 21-22 Focus on Family and Disability Seminar series.pdf