Office of Student Services
Student Services
Misssion Statement
The Office of Student Services is dedicated to supporting the academic achievment, social-emotional growth, and overall well-being of every student. By removing barriers to learning, fostering equity, and providing wraparound services, the office ensures that students have access to the resources, supports, and oppurtunities needed to reach their full potential.
Key Functions:
* Equity & Access - Ensure that all students, including those with unique challenges, have access to educational opportunities and support.
* Health & Wellness - Provide services that promote physical, mental, and emotional health, including counseling, nursing, and crisis support.
* Specialized Services - Coordinate supports for students with disabilities, English language learners, and those experiencing homelessness or other hardships.
* Attendance & Engagement - Address barriers to attendance and engagement to promote consistent student success.
* Family & community Partnerships - Build strong relationships with families and community agencies to provide wraparound support.
* Compliance & Advocacy - Uphold federal, state, and district regulations while advocating for student rights and needs.
Exceptional Students
Students may qualify for services through identification in one or more of the following areas of disability:
• Autism
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Deaf-blindness
• Developmental Delay
• Emotional Disability
• Intellectual Disability (Mild, Moderate, Severe)
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impaired
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment
Our high school students participated in work-related opportunities with the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Center of Orangeburg. This opportunity allows our students the chance to gain employment experiences as a student. This opportunity could pave the way for possible full-time employment once the student exits Calhoun County High School.
Gifted and Talented
The South Carolina State Board of Education recognizes the need to provide gifted education services to identified students in grades 1-12. Gifted and talented students arethose who are identified in grades 1-12 as demonstrating high performance ability orpotential in academic and/or artistic areas. These students require an educational program beyond that normally provided by the general school program in order to achieve their potential. SC Department of Education.
Calhoun County Public Schools goal for our gifted and talented students is to provide educations services that empower and develop the student’s natural desire for knowledge, develop a sense of understanding of their purpose, nurture creativity, increase self- confidence and foster independence and confidence in their quest for learning. Additionally we want strengthen the whole personality of the student.
B.E.S.T. Honors Academy
Calhoun County Honors Academy gives students many experience that may influence life choices and how they view the world academically and socially. The Honors Academy consist of a select group of middle grade students who start taking high school courses on the campus of Calhoun County High School. These students have the opportunity to take college courses once
they attend the high school and earn associate degrees in the Arts or Science from Orangeburg Technical College. Students can also earn dual credits from Orangeburg Technical College.
Social and Emotional Learning
Calhoun County Public Schools offer programs that teach students how to identify and manage their emotions and behaviors. These programs can be computer-based, or taught by our school counselors or teachers. The district has partners that can provide a continuum of care for mental health, or social and emotional care. We diligently work with our community partners to ensure that all students have the support they need on campus, by telehealth, or off campus. Improving emotional well-being can benefit students’ mental and physical health and contribute to their academic success and social well-being.Student Services Guides and Forms
The Calhoun County Public Schools acknowledges and supports the rights of all students to receive a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) that will enable them to develop their unique talents and abilities, thus preparing them to participate in and serve their community with dignity and pride. We offer a continuum of services and programs to meet the needs of students with disabilities and assist in molding productive citizens.
Student Services Documents
- Calhoun County Public Schools Probation and Removal Procedures for the Gifted and Talented Program.pdf
- Calhoun ESL Supplement
- Calhoun Parental Rights-English
- Calhoun Parental Rights-Spanish
- Calhoun Policies and Procedures
- Employability Credential Policy
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
- Honors Academy Handbook 2025-2026.pdf
- MTSS Procedures.pdf
- Notice of Procedural Safeguards
- Response to Intervention Guide Updated 10-10-22.pdf
- South Carolina Process Guide
- Standards For Evaluation and Eligibility Determination
- Calhoun County Mental Health Center Website
- Center for Parent Information and Resources
- Cerebral Palsy Guide
- Department of Behavioral Health Website
- Free Appropriate Public Education under Section 504
- Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT
- MUSC Health Psychiatry Website
- OC Tech Website
- State Department Gifted and Talented Information Website
- The Stepping Stones Group
Student Services
McKinney Vento
The McKinney-Vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness, which includes those who are: sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; staying in motels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to the lack of an adequate alternative; staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings.
The district's McKinney-Vento Liason is Dr. Treda Keith-Nelson. Her contact information is (803) 655-2631 or tkeith@ccpsonline.net
Foster Care
Dr. Treda Keith-Nelson is the contact for our district for Foster Care.
Foster Care
SC Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
This process uses interventions that match the skill that needs to be SCMTSS Framework and Guidance Document June 2019 Page 3 addressed, identified through data-driven decision-making and progress monitoring to increase that student’s potential for success and graduating high school, college, and career-ready. This SCMTSS framework is proactive rather than reactive because it is a system that challenges educators and support professionals to be lifelong learners by analyzing current systems and making decisions that will improve instructional approaches.
MTSS aims to deliver early intervention for every student who struggles to attain or maintain grade-level performance by effectively utilizing best instructional practices within an evidence-based instructional model. An ongoing, systematic process of using student data to guide instructional and intervention decisions is required.
SCMTSS is founded on six core principles that are essential for students and educators to succeed:
· Leadership
· Building Capacity and Infrastructure
· Communication and Collaboration
· Data-Based Problem-Solving
· Tiered Instruction
· Data Evaluation