The Gore Family Foundation’s Special Education Teachers (SETs) all have University degrees or are certified teachers. Our SETs focus on assessing and addressing the learning loss and other social and emotional issues affecting our basic school students.

Assessments are conducted by our Special Education Teachers (S.E.T.’s) at the beginning and end of each school year. The findings of our assessments advise our Special Education Teachers on the: instructional needs, developmental delays, knowledge base, and performance base of students and also help our S.E.Ts to place students.

Assessments also highlight specific academic areas that need to be revised or taught, allowing the process of teaching and learning to be more effective. The findings of our assessments are not only useful for our S.E.Ts but also for class teachers and parents.

Assessment documents are tailored to each age group of students – 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds and test language as well as physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Scores range from 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest score that a student can receive. Scoring guides are included on each assessment document and all data collected is treated with the utmost confidentiality

Basic School students who our SETs identify would benefit from individualized attention related to speech or behavioral issues attend sessions at Therapy Plus once per week.

Our Special Education Teachers (SETs) collaborate closely with our Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) to support each child’s unique communication needs.

Guided by individualized strategies created by the SLP, SETs help reinforce these techniques throughout the school day and share them with parents and teachers for consistent support across environments.

This team approach ensures that every child has the opportunity to grow into a confident and independent communicator, while also addressing any challenges that may affect their ability to express themselves.

The GFF’s Reach Up And Learn Program in our basic schools has trained our Special Education Teachers on how to provide a stimulating learning environment for children which improves quality interactions, facilitates learning, and builds skills in them that ultimately promote their development. The Gore Family Foundation’s Special Education Teachers use specialized techniques to help to improve the vocabularies of children and generally stimulate them in the easiest, happiest way. We have also developed a Toy Factory which is operated by our Gore Scholars (Gore Family Foundation tertiary scholarship recipients). These Gore Scholars work day in day out, giving back to the GFF by playing a critical role in making the toys that our SETs use in the work that they do.

The Gore Family Foundation’s Special Education Teachers complete Second Step: Skills for Social and Academic Success training, which gives them the tools to help kids in our Basic Schools control their impulses, stay focused, and follow rules. The Second Step Program promotes the teaching of life skills that strengthen each child’s ability to learn, have empathy, manage emotions and solve problems.