Ellisville, MS: Parents create autism school for 60 students 3K-6th grade

May 6, 2025, WDAM, Moselle, MS: New specialized therapy school to open in Ellisville

ELLISVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) - A new school is making its way to Ellisville to serve children.

Julie Gilliland and her husband spent 3 years looking for an autistic school for their son, John Knox.

John was diagnosed with autism at 16 months and is a first grader now, but his mom said a traditional school is not helping him reach his full potential.

“Smartest one in his class, but his teachers said they didn’t have the time to help him one-on-one, so we decided to make a school,” said Gilliland.

Knox Academy will feature three classrooms with a sensory room, therapy room, an outside play area and a tree house library.

It will serve sixty K3 through 6th-grade students beginning August 3rd with academic and embedded therapies.

“They would sit one-on-one with the child in the classroom and help them navigate through the day,” said Gilliland.

“There’ll be different sections in the classroom where you’ll have your English language selection, science and history and math, where they’ll have circle time as a group of around to each station,” she explained. . . .

There is a tuition fee, but scholarships are available to some students. The school will eventually expand to 12th-grade students.