Welcome to The Joseph Sams School
The Joseph Sams School is located in Fayetteville, Georgia and currently serves children from several Georgia counties.
The Joseph Sams School, Inc. is a private, non-profit school serving children from birth through twenty-two years of age who have mild to severe intellectual and/or physical disabilities or diagnosed developed disabilities. The school provides intense educational training as well as speech and language therapy for its students.
There are no geographic restrictions for attendance in the program although the majority of students reside in Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Fulton, and Henry counties. The Joseph Sams School is one of few privately operated schools of its kind serving children with intellectual, physical disabilities and/or developmental disabilities in the Atlanta area.
Families of many of our students travel more than sixty miles because of the lack comparable services in other localities.
In addition to serving children with disabilities, the school also provides consultative services to programs developing similar intervention strategies for young children throughout the state. The Joseph Sams School staff also works closely with private therapists and physicians to provide comprehensive programs for its students. We also offer one-on-one tutoring to children with disabilities. Such joint efforts have proven to be successful for these children’s development.
Founded in 1984, The Joseph Sams School, Inc., previously known as The Early Years, Georgia, remains a one-of-a-kind educational facility.
Founded in l984 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The Joseph Sams School is dedicated to the education and life skills development of children and young adults who are intellectually, physically, or developmentally challenged.
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Zane Scarborough, President
Kat Pendergraft, Treasurer
Kellie Reed, Secretary
Jay Boren
Clay Boyles
Trey Bradbury
Travis Cliett
Summer Costley
John Cunninham
Mike Geeslin
Michael Harbin
Brock Morman
Trey Ogle
Bryan Reese
Dr. Jim Sams
Mary Schwab
Members at Large
Chris Barnett
Dr. David Goodman
Dr. Sally Goza
Allen Harp
Wayne Hillis
Alice Mallory
Doug Mickey
Ellen Nichol
Dr. Michael Obenshain
Dallas Olson, Jr.
Dr. Rod Robinson
Bob Rolader
Marie Sams
Dave Sapp
Brent Scarbrough
Jonathan Strack
Aaron Williams
Honorary Board Members
Mary Ann Crofton
Mary Ann Mitcham
Beth Wilker
The Joseph Sams School’s Annual Reports
Below are our latest annual reports. Read through them and see how we are changing lives for the better!
Our History
Founded by a small group of parents seeking preschool early intervention services for their children with disabilities, the school began with one preschool class of six students with Down syndrome.
Throughout is 36 year history, the organization has expanded not only in the programs and services it offers, but also in the numbers, ages, and diagnoses of the children it serves. While many schools serve students with a particular disability or level of functioning, JSS is broader in scope and holds the distinction of being the only fully-accredited school in the state of Georgia that provides educational and therapeutic services for individuals from birth through 22 years of age who have mild to severe disabilities.
JSS continues to “fill a gap” in quality educational services, typically serving those students with developmental challenges whose educational and therapeutic needs are not being adequately addressed through the public school system. The ultimate goal for our students is to have each child emerge as an active and contributing member of his or her family, community, and society. To achieve this, JSS strives to provide the best possible educational and therapeutic interventions available — allowing each child the opportunity to reach his or her academic and developmental potential.
