With Special Needs
There is a continuum of services and
environments for children with special needs.
By law, children are supposed to be placed in the “Least Restrictive
Environment” (LRE). LRE is defined “as
the educational setting where a child with disabilities can receive a free
appropriate public education (FAPE) designed to meet his or her education needs
while being educated with peers without disabilities in the regular educational
environment to the maximum extent appropriate.” The LRE will differ depending on the child’s needs. The following is a very brief, condensed
summary of the continuum of settings:
·
General
Education with Related Services: For children who need some related services
but otherwise can thrive in a regular education environment, they will be
placed in a regular education classroom, and receive support from specialists.
·
General
Education with Special Education Teacher Support Services:
For children who can learn well in a regular education setting with
consistent additional support, they may be assigned a “support” teacher, a
trained special educator who stays with the child in a regular education
class. (Broadly speaking, this is the ongoing
school equivalent of receiving SEIT services.) In addition, these children generally receive related services,
both on a “pull-in” and “push-out” basis – meaning in the classroom and outside
of it.
·
Collaborative
Team Teaching, or “Integrated” Classrooms:
Integrated
Classrooms, with both regular education children and children with special
needs, are now mandated by the Board of Education as the LRE for some
children. These classes are team taught
by two teachers, one trained as special educator and one as a regular
educator. The maximum number of
children is 25 total, 10 with special needs and 15 regular education
children. Schools offering integrated
classrooms generally also have their own team of specialists for related
services.
·
Special
Class Full-Time in either Community school or SED approved non-public schools.
For children who cannot be expected to function well in large groups and
with regular education children, there are both public (District 75) and
independent schools, where the class size is very small (5-9) and all teachers
are trained in special education.
Public Programs in District 3
P.S. 163 Integrated
classroom. Mr. Manne (678-2854) is the
liaison. There is an experienced team
of specialists, in addition to the team teachers and a paraprofessional in the
kindergarten class. This year, the
kindergarten is 20 children.
P.S. 75 Integrated
classroom. Same setup as PS 163.
Manhattan School for Children
Regular
education, “inclusion” classroom with support team of specialists. This school is supportive of families whose
children have special needs, and of those children, of course. In fact, it may be to your benefit in
applying to MSC to mention your child’s special needs quite clearly, as the
school has a philosophy of including children with a wide range of learning
styles. This school is smaller than a
regular catchment school, which can be very helpful to families who are seeking
a smaller, more manageable community.
The guidance counselor, Louisa, also described the program as “barrier
free.”
G&T Programs For
children who need to be challenged academically, there are be some G&T
programs that welcome consultant teachers and therapists, and will be
supportive of children’s emotional issues.
We need to research this further.
District 4
CPE I Similar
to MSC
CPE II Similar
to MSC
Regular Education Private Schools
Alexander 663-6441. A small, regular education school, with
small classes, that takes special
Robertson education
children. Though it is affiliated with
the Presbyterian Church, it is non-sectarian.
This school is less expensive than typical private schools, and has no
frills (no fancy gym, etc.). It has a
strong curriculum and highly trained teaching staff.
Birch-Wathen 861-0404. A regular
education school with a good curriculum, small classrooms, and with a
Lenox welcoming attitude towards children
with very mild special needs. The
admissions director said that they cannot accommodate additional support
teachers in the classroom (e.g., paras) because the rooms are very small, but
that can have up to five children with special needs per class.
Special Education Private Schools
Gateway 777-5966. Classrooms of seven or eight students, in
which learning is highly individualized.
Churchill 722-0610. Seven ungraded classrooms, where children
are grouped according to age, cognitive level, language functioning and social
maturity. Basic language and math are
taught in small group of 2-6 students.
Parkside 721-8888. The children have a wider range of special
needs than at Gateway and Churchill