DMS Functional Classroom

Mr. David Tate and Mrs. Natalie Birchett 

Mr. David Tate  

Hello... I am David Tate and I grew up in Dade County.  

Mrs. Natalie Birchett 

Hello... I am Natalie Birchett and I grew up in Dade County.  I graduated from Dade County High School in 1999.  I am married to Brian Birchett and we have one daughter, Addie.  I attended Covenant College and received my Bachelors degree.  I then attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and received my Masters degree.  I have worked in the Dade County School System for for the past 21 years.  I started my career as a paraprofessional as I worked to complete my teaching degree.   I am thankful to be a teacher in Dade County and strive to make a difference in the lives of my students each day. 

Functional Classroom Set Up  

Our classroom at DMS is set up to teach students life skills and vocational skills to prepare them for their future.  We focus on teaching them daily living skills such as proper hygiene, social skills, and other skills necessary to be successful.  The students follow a daily schedule individual to their needs.  They rotate through seven centers daily to meet their needs. 

Crafty Classroom 

We are opened up a new classroom business for the 2022-23 school year.  We have a classroom website set up where people can place orders for our items.  We hand make an assortment of wristlets, key chains, and lanyards!  Please see the link below:  

https://sites.google.com/dadecs.org/dmscraftyclassroom?usp=sharing

Communication Notebooks  

We have daily Communication Notebooks that are used in our classroom daily.   We use these to keep in contact with parents daily about students progress and needs. 


PAES Lab 

We have a PAES lab that we use daily in our classroom.  The lab is designed to give students real world experiences with jobs that they may complete in the future.  This lab is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain job skills for their future.