Meet Our Exceptional Education Administrative Team

Trey Ferguson is the Director of Exceptional Education for Monroe County Schools. Before joining the district administrative team in 2013, Mr. Ferguson worked for McMinn County Schools as a School Psychologist (2003 – 2013) and as a School Counselor at Madisonville Middle School (1997-2003). He holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Tennessee Technological University. Mr. Ferguson oversees all facets of the exceptional education department, including programs, services, personnel, and budget.  Drawing on his years of experience in education, Mr. Ferguson provides support to principals, teachers, and parents all across Monroe County regarding issues related to the education of students with disabilities.

Debbie McDaniel began her career in education as an Instructional Assistant at Madisonville Primary School in 1987. Over the course of her seventeen years at Madisonville Primary, Ms. McDaniel was promoted to school secretary where she continued to provide support to the school’s administrative staff, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members. In August 2004, Ms. McDaniel joined the district-wide team as Administrative Assistant to the Exceptional Education Supervisor.

Zach Hitson began his career as a School Psychology Assistant with Monroe County Schools in 2014. In this role, Mr. Hitson manages all exceptional education inventories and compiles data for students undergoing reevaluation. Prior to his role with Monroe County Schools, Mr. Hitson spent seven years as the nursing administration assistant at Sweetwater Hospital Association working in a diverse range of roles, including quality control inspections of medical testing equipment, performance improvement analysis, and record reviews in medical charting. In his role as psychology assistant, Mr. Hitson has been able to carry over valuable skill sets from his former occupation. Mr. Hitson assists the school psychologists in retrieving data and data entry.