PIMA — The Dan Hinton Accommodation School appears to be off the chopping block.
Rumor had been circling the Gila Valley that the school — which serves children with physical and developmental disability — might be closing because one of the districts in the consortium that funds the school could be pulling out.
However, on Oct. 16, Thatcher Unified School District Superintendent Matthew Peterson issued a notification of continued services.
“At this time, the district will continue to utilize Graham County Special Services through Dan Hinton for self-contained placements. All related services will continue as well. All services mentioned above will continue as scheduled for the 2024-2025 school year,” Peterson wrote.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Pima Unified School District Superintendent Sean Rickert posted a statement to social media. He said, “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Graham County Special Services to provide a high-quality education for all of our students who have been served through the Dan Hinton School and Brighter Day Preschool. This arrangement has been a benefit to generations of Pima students.”
Dan Hinton School and Brighter Day Preschool operate under the direction of the Graham County School Superintendent’s Office and both serve self-contained special needs students in the four districts that provide operational funding based on the number of students attending from each district. A wide range of services are offered through the school, including speech, occupational, physical and psychological therapies, in addition to education. Also, all students receive necessary services, either in class or at home for those unable to be in a classroom setting.
Dan Hinton serves kindergarteners through 12th grade; however, special education students can remain in high school until age 22.
The districts in the consortium are Thatcher, Pima, Fort Thomas and Bonita. Gila Valley Central’s requests for comment from the Fort Thomas Unified School District were not immediately returned.
While all four districts appear to be committed to keeping Dan Hinton School operational, at least one has pulled out of Brighter Day Preschool.
In Peterson’s Oct. 16 notice, he stated that TUSD “will continue providing developmental preschool services at Jack Daley Primary School.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:38 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in regard to the Bonita School District.
