About Our School

MISSION STATEMENT

To Provide education, training, special instruction, and other services for consumers, preschool and adult, who are mentally challenged and/or developmentally delayed and who are not receiving these training services from any other local sources.

Who We Are

The Arc of the Chattahoochee Valley is the legal entity which operates Valley Haven School. It is tax exempt under 501 (C) 3 of the IRS code. The Arc was organized in 1959 and has sponsored Valley Haven School for 49 years. Five officers and a Board of Directors, made up of community leaders, direct the activities of the Association and Valley Haven School.   Each August, staff, parents, and friends gather to attend the Arc Annual Dinner. The members of the Arc elect those who will sit on the Board of Directors.   The Board of Directors employs the Executive Director, Tony Edmondson, who administers the day to day affairs of the Arc and is the Director of Valley Haven School. The Board makes decisions that affect The Arc and Valley Haven as a whole.   Valley Haven currently serves 133 consumers between 3 months and 72 years of age in 11 classrooms: 1 early intervention class (children who exhibit a 25% delay in one of the five developmental areas or who have a handicapping condition), plus 10 Adult classes (contracted services through grants with Medicaid and the Alabama Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation.) Valley Haven primarily serves individuals who reside in the Chambers County and Lee County areas. Other counties' residents are served if space and transportation are available.   To determine which activities are most beneficial to each consumer after admission, a staffing is conducted by a team of qualified professionals to review diagnostic information and evaluations. After the initial review, parents and staff meet together to discuss long and short term objectives and goals to meet the specific needs of each consumer. Such objectives include education and training activities to involve both the consumer and his/her parents/guardian, based upon the present skills of the consumer and reasonable expectations for achievement. Checklists, observations, parent information, and any diagnostic or evaluative information are used to assess the consumer's skills, identify problems, and specify the methods of treatment and training.