John S. Charlton School

The John S. Charlton Program is designed for students with special needs throughout Kent County, Delaware. The Program serves students, 2 to 21 years of age, who have a need to learn functional life skills, via modification of the Common Core State Standards following the Grade Band Extensions, in order to enhance their level of independence. Students at the John S. Charlton Program receive special education services. John S. Charlton is the Kent County Center for the Delaware Autism Program. Students are served at the John S. Charlton Program throughout schools in the Caesar Rodney School District and at Wesley College.

The Caesar Rodney School District has established a curriculum development process that supports alignment to the existing Common Core State Standards and Grade Level Expectations. This process involves teacher and administrative input through a Curriculum Cabinet and Council process. The preparation of our students as life-long learners in a global community of the 21st century society is the unifying objective of this process. The curriculum not only identifies essential knowledge and skills, but also supports students’ development in problem solving and gathering and using resources that will enable them to succeed. Each content area (English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education, Health, and Family and Consumer Sciences) also has an Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning component to support students in the learning process and to determine specific performance relative to the State Standard.

Students at the John S. Charlton Program participate in community visitations, vocational placements, Special Olympics, and the Positive Behavior Support Initiative. During the 2006-2007 through the 2011-2012 school years, the Program achieved the Positive Behavior Support STAR status. One hundred percent of the students in the Program are involved in inclusion opportunities with their typical peers. The Program sponsors Family Fun Nights every other month. Parents are active in many of our events, such as the monthly Positive Behavior Support Celebrations, the School Success Planning Committee, the Autism Parent Advisory Committee, and our PTA, that meets every month.