MSSE

08/18/2026

Welcome back to school to our staff at Thrive! We have an amazing crew this year and we are so excited to watch our program grow! Cheers to Year 2!

07/14/2026

We are looking for additional staff at Thrive, our Vandalia, IL public day school!

07/07/2026

MSSE is looking for a part-time or full-time SLP to serve the Panhandle School District (Raymond, Farmersville schools). Please share!

06/16/2026

We are hiring for a full-time SLP!
Start date: August 13, 2026
Location: Hillsboro Community School District No. 3

05/27/2026

Staff Shout Out!!

Crystal Schmidt and Madi Whittington, MSSE SLPs serving Carlinville, have completed insurance funding reports to secure 7 high-tech communication devices (AAC) for students. These reports are a huge undertaking as each one involves weeks of detailed data collection, trial runs with different tech, and constant collaboration with parents. They also spent a significant amount of time navigating the "red tape" with insurance companies and the device company to make sure these were approved. The best part is that because these are funded through insurance, the students now personally own their "voices". Crystal and Madi, you two make the difference!

05/19/2026

Happy last day of school to our staff and students at Thrive MSSE Public Day School! It was an amazing first year of operations and we are excited for a relaxing summer and an even greater second year!!!!

05/18/2026

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month and today, May 18th, is National Speech Language Pathologist Day! I'd like to thank our DHH teachers: Chloe Foppe, Michaela Hartley, and Janice Metsker-Galarza and our amazing SLPs: Velvet Balmer, Kelly Behme, Bree Henson, Brianna Taylor, Andrea Hughes, Lorinda Jennings, Lynnette Milner, Debbie Musgrave, Crystal Schmidt, Jessie Schneider, Kelli Stewart, and Madi Whittington. These amazing professionals work with students daily on improving their ability to communicate with the world around them. Without this service and without all of their skills and hard work, students wouldn't be able to communicate their needs, socialize with peers, or make progress towards their goals.

05/14/2026

If you are lucky enough to know Joan, you will not be surprised to see that she is making people smile all the way up until the last day of school :)

Mrs. Joan is ready for summer break!!

05/12/2026

Mid-State Special Education held their end-of-year staff meeting and celebration on May 8, 2026. The theme of this year’s celebration was “Throwback to School”. Staff dressed up from the era that they attended school, they submitted school pictures and staff had to guess who was who, and they enjoyed pizza from The Toasty Goat food truck. 4 amazing professionals were awarded the Making a Difference Award. Those recipients were: Lucas Altenberger, School Psychologist for the Litchfield School District, Kassandra Charles, School Psychologist for the Morrisonville, Panhandle, South Fork, and Edinburg School Districts, Karen Bennett (School Social Worker for the Vandalia School District), and Amanda Fritcher (Transition Specialist for the Vandalia, Bond County, Mulberry Grove, Ramsey, St. Elmo, and Brownstown School Districts). The 4 professionals stood out this year by going above and beyond with their contributions to Mid-State, their districts, colleagues, and students. 7 employees were also presented with years of service awards. 5 years- Ingrid Watkins (Executive Secretary), Barb Daugherty (Thrive Principal), and Brianna Taylor (Speech Language Pathologist serving the Litchfield school district). 10 years- Lynnette Milner (Speech Language Pathologist serving the Litchfield school district) and Scarlett Vanzo (School Social Worker serving the Brownstown, Ramsey, St. Elmo, and Mulberry Grove school districts). 20 years- Kristy Haston (School Psychologist serving the Bond County school district) and Nancy Roasio (School Social Worker serving the Litchfield school district). We thank these award recipients for their longevity and dedication to Mid-State and the districts they serve. We were also able to celebrate the upcoming retirement of Laura Snyder, Transition Specialist for Carlinville, Litchfield, Hillsboro, and Panhandle school districts. Laura has been a Transition Specialist for Mid-State for 26 years, serving a total of 31 years in education. She has been a great leader, student advocate, and has been a significant reason why our STEP/PECT contract has grown as much as it has. Lastly, we ended the day with professional development. Star Net presented about Early Childhood Outcomes to staff. This event helped to sharpen our skills on accurately rating early childhood students and their progress. To learn more about our special education cooperative and the amazing work our professionals do, please go to www.midstatespec.org.

05/05/2026

Congratulations to Mr. Osborne for being Thrive's Employee of the Year!