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4Remedial
Services for Students and Special Education Programs
Special Education
Programs
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1) Preschool Age Children
The New York
State Education Department (SED), Office of Vocational and
Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID)
oversees a statewide preschool special education program with
school districts, municipalities, approved providers and parents.
Evaluations and specially planned individual or group
instructional services or programs are provided to eligible
children who have a disability that affects their learning.
Funding for these special education programs and services is
provided by municipalities and the state. If approved by the
school district, arrangements will be made for your eligible child
to receive one or more of the following special education programs
and/or services recommended by the CPSE including, but not limited
to speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy,
assistive technology, parent education and counseling.
Preschool providers offer three types of special education
programs approved by SED Special Education Itinerant (SEIT)
Services and center-based services. SEIT services are special
education teacher services provided in the child’s home, day care
setting or regular education preschool setting. SEIT services are
provided to students with lesser disabilities who need help
acquiring school readiness skills such as recognition of colors,
shapes and letters, drawing and cutting skills. Special class in
an integrated setting is a class with preschool students with and
without disabilities. Special class center-based special education
instruction is provided to a group of up to twelve children with
disabilities by a special education teacher and teacher aide at a
special education preschool. Preschool children needing
center-based special education instruction generally have moderate
to severe disabilities and require intensive special education
instruction in order to progress. Such children may have serious
orthopedic, cognitive, sensory (speech/language, deafness or
blindness) or behavioral disabilities. In addition, the Head Start
program housed in the Fonda-Fultonville Elementary School
accommodates some children with disabilities. (top)
2) School Age Children
The District provides special education classes to students who
cannot succeed in general education classes without special
education support or who need to receive primary instruction from
the special education teacher. Our special education teachers work
closely with the general education teachers and support inclusion
of special education students in general education classes
whenever it will benefit the students. The special education
teachers are principally assigned to particular buildings, however
the administration may assign them to work with students in any
building as needed to meet the needs of individual students. (top)
We offer three types of programs:
Consultant teacher support (grades K-12)
- The special education teacher in
the resource room works with students in their classroom (push-in)
for support to succeed in their general education class, such as
science and social studies. It is recommended that the special
education teachers instruct students in the general education
classroom whenever appropriate. (top)
Resource Support (grades 5-12)
- Up to 5 students meet with the teacher in the resource room for
support to succeed in their general education classes. (top)
Primary Instruction (grades K-12)
- Up to 15 students meet with the special education teacher for
their main instruction in core subjects such as reading/language
arts, and mathematics. (top)
Grades K-3 level
At the K-3 grade level we have one special education teacher who
works with a teaching assistant. This teacher works cooperatively
with the general education teachers from those grades so that
special needs students can receive as much of their instruction as
possible within the general education classroom. Several of the
students have demanding needs which require specialized small
group instruction (primary instruction) in math and English
Language Arts/reading. Most of these students are mainstreamed for
specials including art, gym, and music. They are also mainstreamed
for field trips and special events. This teacher arranges for all
related services through her class which includes one period per
day of speech related consultant teacher services. (top)
Grades 3-4 level (Self-Contained and Push-In Support)
There are currently one special education teacher and one teaching
assistant who work with second, third and fourth grade children.
Our special education teacher in grades 3 & 4 provides support to
some of the students in their general education classrooms or
outside of their classrooms in the special education classroom,
depending on the students’ needs. For example, if a student is
highly distractible and is having difficulty learning a new
concept, the special education teacher may elect to instruct the
student in the special education classroom. There are push-in
related speech services four periods per week.
Alternatively, if the special education teacher feels the student
would gain more if she pushes-in to the general education
classroom to work with the student in cooperation with the
classroom teacher that is an option. Several of the students have
demanding needs which require specialized small group instruction
(primary instruction) in math and English/language arts/reading.
Coordinated scheduling of the elementary grades allows for the
provision of better services. Special education staff can
determine skill levels and group students appropriately to those
skills. A coordinated curriculum is also used in an effort to
prepare special education students to pass the state exams. (top)
Grades 5-8 Level
At the grades 5-8 level we have five special education teachers,
each of whom has the support of teaching assistants and/or teacher
aides. One teacher is a grade 5-6 resource room teacher who
provides resource room and consultant teacher service with a
middle school team. Two other teachers (one for grades 5&6 and
another for grades 7&8) provide full-time special education
instruction (15:1:1) to most of his/her students. The third and
fourth teachers work with seventh and eighth grade students, both
in the general education class and in a self-contained setting.
What follows is a description of each program in more detail. (top)
5-8 Resource Room/Primary Instruction Program
The special education teachers provide resource room support to
most of the students, that is, they support the instruction
provided by the general education classroom teacher. They
communicate regularly with the general education teachers to learn
what assignments the students are required to complete and in what
areas they need re-teaching. They help many of the students read
their text books and literature books and assist them in
completing writing assignments. Most of the students have testing
modifications listed on their IEPs and many need to take tests in
the resource room so that their tests can be read to them and so
they can be provided extra time to complete the tests. The special
education teachers and the teaching assistants provide consultant
teaching services in any or all of the core academic classrooms as
determined necessary by student IEP’s.
As mentioned in the previous K-4 section, some students need
primary instruction from the special education teacher. In this
program, students with very weak reading, writing and mathematics
skills are provided primary instruction in those areas. Of course
the goal is still the same: the students must prepare to pass the
state exams. (top)
5-8 Full-Time Special Education Classes
Up to 15 students per class period
At the middle school level we also offer a full-time special
education class with a teacher, a teaching assistant and up to 15
students at the fifth and sixth grade levels and another class
with the same configuration at the seventh and eighth grade
levels. The students in each class receive primary instruction for
reading, language arts (written expression) and mathematics. At
the fifth and sixth grade levels, the students are included in a
general education classroom for science and social studies. They
are accompanied in class by the special education teacher or
teaching assistant. The special education teacher modifies his
instruction and expectations for the special needs students and
the teaching assistant supports the instruction to provide an
appropriate setting to meet the special education student's needs.
At the seventh and eighth grade levels, the program is very
similar except that the students “push-in” to general education
English classes instead of science classes. Students receive
additional support for those classes in the special education
classroom. (top)
Grades 9-12 (Resource Room, Consultant Teaching and Primary
Instruction)
We also have four special education teachers at the high school
level. At the high school level, the special education teachers
support classroom instruction, encouraging good study habits,
re-teaching, helping students complete assignments, and trying to
prepare the students to pass the state RCT and Regents
examinations. The teachers work cooperatively so that resource
room instruction is available to students almost every class
period of the day. When the consultant teacher model is necessary,
push-in services are provided where a special education teacher or
teaching assistant sits in the regular education setting where
special education students are included.
The special education teachers work with students providing
resource room services following a 5:1 ratio and primary
instruction services for core academic subjects in a 15:1 ratio.
Some special needs students are not able to pass the general
education classes even with resource room support. These students
continue to learn the general education curriculum, the SED
standards curriculum, in small instructional groups of 15 or fewer
students. This curriculum is modified yearly to meet the
individual needs of the students.
Some students are not able to complete the requirements for a
regular high school diploma and instead try to complete the goals
on their IEPs and work toward IEP diplomas. These students need an
alternative curriculum geared toward adult life skills such as
managing money, filling out forms and applications, reading signs
and labels, learning good health habits and appropriate social
skills, and making a smooth transition to employment upon
graduation. The challenge for the special education teachers is to
meet the needs of the IEP diploma students while also preparing
their students to take the state examinations. (top)
3) SPECIAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMS - Out-of-District Placements
A. BOCES Programs
- BEST
(12:1:1)
This program is for students ages 5-21 with developmental
disabilities who require intensive instruction. The goal is for
students to learn functional academic skills and independent
living skills. Mainstreaming is available when appropriate.
- Life
Skills (12:1:4)
This program is designed for students ages 5-21 with significant
developmental disabilities that require a more intensive
instructional approach and a higher student/staff ratio. The
goal is to provide functional academic skills and independent
living skills.
- Multiply
Disabled Program (12:1:4)
This program is designed for students ages 5-21 with multiple
disabilities who require the services of a multi-disciplinary
team approach. The team, including a special education teacher,
physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech and language
therapist and nurse, provide highly individualized instructional
programs involving skill development in the areas of motor,
perceptual, daily living, language and socialization.
- Pupils
Adjusting to Community Environment - PACE (8:1:1)
This program is designed for students ages 5-21 who are
primarily emotionally disturbed. Students are provided with
academic instruction within the context of a structured behavior
management plan.
- Children
in Crisis Program - CICP (6:1:1)
This program is designed for students ages 5-21 with intensive
behavioral management needs. Concentrated efforts are made to
integrate academics, social-emotional programming, physical
wellness and parental involvement. The CICP class offers
counseling, case management and home visitations.
- Career
Preparation Program (12:2)
This program provides 9th and 10th grade classified students
with the required instruction in Introduction to Occupations,
mathematics, earth science, and health. Students are also
provided with internship experiences in vocational labs, which
is then integrated with classroom instruction.
- Academic
Preparation Program
This program is designed for special education students who
anticipate taking and successfully completing the state exams at
the secondary level. This program is designed for students who
are perceived to have the cognitive ability to achieve a Regents
diploma, but who require a more supportive environment with a
higher student-teacher ratio. The APP provides mainstreaming and
inclusion into the classes at the HFM BOCES Alternative High
School.
- Work
Study Program
This program assists students with special needs on workplace
transition. The program provides students with supervised,
relevant work experiences in the community during school hours.
Paid positions are possible. This program also contracts with
VESID to complete high school level intake and orientation.
*All programs list the ratio of the maximum number of students
per class per teacher and the number of aides in the class, e.g.
12:1:4 = 12 students, 1 teacher, and 4 aides. (top)
B.
Private School Programs
Students are placed in private school programs if they have such
intensive needs that they would not be successful in BOCES
programs. Our district has placed students with severe emotional
needs at the Oak Hill School in Scotia, the Northeast Parent and
Child Society in Schenectady, Parsons in Albany, Romulus Kids
Peace, The Deavereaux Center in Red Hook, New York, and
specialized programs at Capital Region BOCES. Students with severe
developmental disabilities have been placed at the Wildwood School
in Guilderland. Specialized schools, such as the NYS School for
the Deaf in Rome, serve students with hearing impairments. (top)
Future Plans for
Special Education Classes
At the preschool level the Committee on Preschool Special
Education (CPSE) will continue to develop IEPs emphasizing
delivery of services in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
LRE for preschool students means receiving special education
services in the home, at a day care placement, or at the preschool
students attend. The CPSE will only recommend a special education
preschool placement if a student has moderate to severe
disabilities. Emphasis on evaluation throughout the year will be
placed on students that are borderline in specific areas. Although
this places more focus on the service provider during the year, it
also gives us a better picture of a student's abilities as they
enter kindergarten.
Based on the concern that many of the special education students
are reading significantly below grade level in the middle and high
schools and to comply with the district’s recently funded Reading
First program, the special education teachers K-12 will receive
extensive staff development in reading instruction. The addition
of primary instruction reading classes at the middle and high
school levels will also be pursued.
A review of pre-referral strategies for students being identified
as possibly needing special education service will be conducted.
The implementation of instructional support teams as part of the
process will be explored.
Further support from teacher assistants in all the classrooms that
have special education students in them is sought. Emphasis will
be placed on training them to provide the desired levels of
support. Topics for the trainings will include: classroom and
behavior management, support for reading and writing, and
understanding disabilities.
As the numbers of students with disabilities change, it is
intended that our programs will have the flexibility to adapt to
the increases or decreases. Teachers, classes and services will be
shifted as necessary to meet the needs of the students.
For K-12 students, the special education teachers will continue to
develop curriculum to dovetail into regular education curriculum.
The district is currently working on a math curriculum continuum
designed to bring special education students from middle school to
high school with the goal to pass the Regents exam. A Life Skills
math course will be researched, designed and implemented.
Unconventional methods of educating students will continue to be
discussed and utilized. Methods such as teaching a fifth grade
special education student third grade math in a third grade class
to bring him up to level will be used. (top)
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