West Plains, MO. – Mikala King, a special educations teacher with the West Plains R-7 School Disctrict, has now been named the Program Director of ASCEND, a first-of-its-kind program within Missouri State University, West Plains.
The ASCEND program has been established with the goal of assisting those with autism and other disorders into and through college, encouraging and aiding in their independence, and personal successes. It will offer specialized support services for students with autism who wish to embark on a traditional college degree path to reach personally-chosen goals.
A core team of highly trained individuals whose work will focus solely on the ASCEND Program will offer students structured support, scheduled guidance, individualized coaching, and peer and graduate mentoring that will help the students develop independence and accountability.
The owner of TJ Swift House in West Plains, Tracey Renfrow, has also contributed to the program, assisting it and MSU-WP for the next few years.
