Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Selma City Schools Director of Special Education Courtney Utsey was recently elected to the Alabama Council of Administrators in Special Education (ALACASE), a professional organization that serves special education leaders and administrators who live and work in Alabama and promotes educational services and programs for all of Alabama’s children with special education needs.

Utsey will serve as the ALACASE South Representative during a two-year term, which began July 1.

“I am truly honored to be elected to serve as the South Representative for this amazing professional organization,” said Utsey. “It’s so humbling to be nominated by colleagues that I have respected and admired for years. I look forward to representing Team Selma and my beautiful scholars with disabilities as I accept this position.”

Utsey said she has spent the length of her career serving students with special needs in the Selma and Dallas County working for 10 years as a resource teacher and a speech language pathologist for Selma City and Dallas County Schools.

From 2012-2017 Utsey served as an Education Specialist for Special Education Services for the Alabama State Department of Education where she worked closely with directors and coordinators to determine compliance and program quality strengths and challenges.

Utsey said she has been a long-time member of ALACASE, and attended several conferences throughout the years that have offered her amazing professional development opportunities.

In 2018, Utsey was appointed by the ALACASE President to serve as the Representative for District 8 which included, Dallas, Perry, Autauga, Montgomery, Lowndes and Wilcox Counties

During this time, she also co-chaired the Membership Committee which focused on recruiting more ALACASE members. The membership committee gained national recognition and were honored at the National CASE conference.

Utsey has also assisted with the Novice Committee which provides professional development to novice Special Education Coordinators and planned the 2019 Back to School Conference.