Encouraging special-needs students to become part of the fabric of Jones Middle School has been a priority for Jaclyn Boyce and Ashley Saye for more than a dozen years, but the special-education teachers have cranked it up a notch for the 2022-23 school year.

Boyce, who teaches students with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, and Saye, who teaches students with moderate intellectual disabilities, are both firm believers in getting their charges out of the classroom and into the general student population in an effort to improve their sense of belonging at the Buford school by participating in daily activities.