ARDMORE, OK - Ardmore City Schools is participating a new program called Inclusion Education that helps students needing special services.

The program welcomes all students into a regular education classroom. In the past, students needing special services would be pulled from class each day and receive instruction from a special education teacher. Now the special education teach comes to them.

Special Services Director Carolyn Thomas said this is the first year Ardmore has participated in the program.

"I think this is the next step in education," Thomas said. "I am glad that we are doing it in Ardmore. This is the year of base line data to see what we have done right, what we have done wrong. We will just increase it and improve it for next year."

Right now, Ardmore's Inclusion Education is only for grades 1-5. Thomas said she hopes to expand the program to high school in the future.