What’s on the inside: At Special Needs School of Gwinnett, students are at the heart of it all

For decades, the Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett (SNS) never looked like much on the outside — from its humble beginnings in a converted church storage closet to its campus made up of old trailers and two small ranch-style houses.

But on the inside, it’s always been a warm, welcoming place for children with special needs to learn and thrive.

“Our doors would have closed a long time ago if what was happening inside these rooms wasn’t something really special,” said Jamie Hamilton, the school’s executive director and Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia board member. “We got by because these teachers served and sacrificed and cared so deeply about these kids.”

That testament to the heart of the school is echoed in stories Jamie shares, like that of long-time board member Susie Collat.

Years ago, Susie and her husband were looking for a place for their then-sixth-grade daughter and were considering many options. Jamie said other schools had more “bells and whistles and a lot more curb appeal” than SNS. But one of the school’s founders, Elinore Trotter, was a personal friend of Susie’s, and she had committed to visit.

“The moment that she walked in those doors, she knew that regardless of the [lack of] physical accommodations [at the time], she saw rooms full of people just like her daughter, and they were being so loved on and so taken care of,” Jamie said. “And she said, ‘These are my daughter’s people. These are the people she needs to be around.’”

Susie’s daughter is still with SNS. After graduating its high school, she now participates in its Young Adults Learning Life Skills (YALLS) program.

SNS, which was founded in 1987, hasn’t always offered YALLS or high school. Those programs, like others within the school, came about as a way to meet the needs of the children who first started attending the program and were beginning to age out of it.

Co-founder Beverly Bailey was a speech pathologist in Lawrenceville and saw a growing number of children come to her with autism diagnoses and were seeing her for speech delays and speech challenges. 

She wanted to create an environment where their needs could be individually addressed.

“We have always run on the principle that children with disabilities are more alike to their peers than they are different,” Jamie said. “What that child needs to really thrive is something that is catered to them and created by people who have a unique understanding of that child, their challenges and their goals.” 

SNS no longer operates out of trailers and houses. It has a modern, purpose-built building on its eight-acre campus. It serves children from age five to adults in their 40s with programs that address every stage of life and development. Classrooms maintain a 10-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio (or a 5-to-1 ratio counting paraprofessionals).  

“And when they move from one classroom to the other, that new teacher already knows the child, and the institutional knowledge about how you can best support a child moves across this building so seamlessly in a way that nowhere else can compete with,” Jamie said.

Jason DiFranco, the school’s director of development, said this support extends beyond the school and into the students’ homes.

“One thing I love about the school is it’s a full household system where we get complete buy-in from the families,” he said. “Students are the main concentration and concern. However, if we don’t have that buy-in, what we’re doing at the school will get pushed to the wayside. Our teachers, support staff, Jamie and the leadership team have that one-on-one personal contact with each of the families to ensure that everyone’s on the same page for what’s best for the students and young adults.”

This approach and the success of the school have created demand for its programming, with a waitlist of more than 175 people. There are plans to expand the building to accommodate more students, but Jamie said they’re approaching growth with sustainability in mind.

“Anyone who grows too fast, it’s typically not a great ending to the story,” he said. “It looks good for a little bit, then it becomes unsustainable, and then it runs away — and the great things you were trying to accomplish and the impact that you wanted to make falls by the wayside. We’re going to be cautious not to allow that to happen.”

Jason said one way they’re taking a measured approach is by not adding more students to existing classes. While it’s a quick revenue generator, he said that it could potentially hinder someone’s independent learning experience. 

And because the school doesn’t receive federal funding, support comes from the community. Both Jason and Jamie credit the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia as being an instrumental partner in helping with that support.

“They stand alongside us, whatever we need,” Jason said. “We’re very fortunate to be partners with them.”

“The Gwinnett nonprofit landscape is crowded,” Jamie said. “There are a lot of legacy nonprofits everybody knows about, and not so many people know about us. We’ll never be successful on the financial backs of our families. We need people to come in and support it. When you have a trusted partner like the Community Foundation, it makes all the difference in the world.

“The Community Foundation is sort of the centerpiece in the hub of philanthropic impact here in Gwinnett, not only through the funds it distributes, but more so through the network of fundholders and donors that have their money invested with them.”

Through this partnership, SNS has been able to bring awareness and support to its programs, goals and growth. For a small nonprofit like SNS, Jamie said those donations create immediate, measurable impact where it matters: inside the classroom.

“I take immense pride when we get to better these kids’ lives because of that,” Jamie said.

Support Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett at https://cfneg.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3113