Connections | Foundations | Co-Teaching | Resource Room | Direct Consultant Teaching | Indirect Consultant Teaching
Connections – Grades K-5
Connections is a highly structured, small special class designed for students with significant delays in communication, cognition, adaptive behavior, and social skills. Instruction is individualized and modified with a focus on functional academics, communication, social interaction, and daily living skills such as self-care and following routines. Students typically require intensive adult support, specialized communication systems, and sensory regulation strategies throughout the school day.
Anticipated Pathway: Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC), with a focus on independence and life readiness.
Learner Characteristics
Students in Connections typically present with global developmental delays and demonstrate significant challenges in communication, social interaction, and adaptive functioning. Students’ cognitive abilities, adaptive scores and language scores are significantly below average grade-level expectations.
Primary Areas of Need
- Functional academics
- Play and leisure skills
- Adaptive skills (including toileting and self-care)
- Life skills, communication, social skills, behavioral and emotional regulation.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
- Small Group and 1:1 Modified Academic Curriculum
- Life-skill-based curriculum, including explicit instruction on expected behaviors for the classroom
- Direct instruction for Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
- Communication
Setting
This is a special class, located in a self-contained Special Education classroom, with opportunities to reverse mainstream and mainstream.
Supports and Services
- Augmentative and/or Alternative Communication (AAC);
- Sensory supports and access to sensory space;
- Frequent breaks;
- Direct instruction in social skills and self-regulation;
- Modified environment and materials;
- Assistive technology as needed.
Foundations – Grades K-5
Foundations is a small, structured special class for students who are performing well below grade level and require a slower instructional pace, more repetition, and substantial scaffolding to access the curriculum. The program uses grade-level standards as a guide but modifies content, materials, and expectations to match students’ learning needs. Many students also present with language, adaptive, and self-regulation needs and benefit from clear routines, visual supports, and embedded social and executive functioning instruction.
Anticipated Pathway: Regents or Local Diploma
Learner Characteristics
Students in Foundations are those with delays in academic and adaptive skills who require a smaller, structured setting with a modified general education curriculum and significant scaffolding to access grade-level standards. This program is designed for students whose management needs impact their academic achievement. Students’ cognitive abilities and language scores are typically below average and they often demonstrate notable delays in adaptive functioning and self-regulation.
Primary Areas of Need
- Academic skills: two or more years below grade level in reading, writing, and math.
- Significant level of adaptive behavior/self-regulation difficulties.
- Language delays require a high level of visual supports.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
- General Education curriculum, which may require modifications
- Access to grade-level academics that require higher levels of supplemental instruction
- Focus on Essential Standards and Foundational literacy and numeracy for grade-level curriculum
Setting
This is a special class, located in a self-contained Special Education classroom, with opportunities to mainstream.
Supports and Services
- Pre-teaching and re-teaching;
- Small-group and scaffolded instruction;
- Embedded Social/Emotional Learning and Social skills instruction;
- Visual supports;
- Sensory and behavior supports as needed;
- Assistive technology as needed;
- Adaptive tools/equipment as needed;
- Access to breaks.
Integrated Co-Teaching – Grades K-5
Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) places students with disabilities in a general education classroom where instruction is delivered by both a general education teacher and a special education teacher. This model is appropriate for students who can participate in the general education curriculum but require differentiated instruction, frequent scaffolding, and strategic support (such as pre-teaching, re-teaching, and additional practice) to make progress. ICT allows for flexible grouping, targeted interventions within the classroom, and ongoing adjustments to materials and tasks.
Anticipated Pathway: Regents or Local Diploma
Learner Characteristics
These students can be successful in the general education classroom with two certified teachers and consistent instructional scaffolds during ELA and Math. Instruction requires pre-teaching, re-teaching, and increased repetition of previously learned concepts. Students’ cognitive skills are generally within the below-average to average range. These students require significant differentiation of the curriculum to address academic achievement deficits in reading, writing or math. They also may have clinically significant scores on standard behavior assessments.
Primary Areas of Need
- Scaffolding with increased opportunities for repetition of foundational skill instruction and pre-teaching/re-teaching of grade-level curriculum.
- Instruction in core academic areas – reading, writing, math.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
- General Education grade-level curriculum that is differentiated, scaffolded, and provides individual accommodations as driven by IEP.
- May have related services,
- Classroom structures and routines that support executive functioning difficulties,
- Increased access to small group instruction
Setting
This is a special class that is located in general education classrooms.
Supports and Services
- Co-teaching support;
- Collaboration and co-planning between special and general education staff;
- Requires scaffolded supports in identified academic areas;
- Assistive technology as needed.
Resource Room – Grades K-5
Resource Room is a small-group setting, outside of the general education classroom, where students receive targeted instruction aligned with their IEP goals. It is designed for students who are able to participate in the general education curriculum but require additional support in specific areas, such as reading, writing, math, or executive functioning and study skills. Instruction is intensive, focused, and individualized, with a maximum of five students to one teacher, providing opportunities for re-teaching, strategy instruction, and skill practice.
Anticipated Pathway: Regents or Local Diploma
Learner Characteristics
Students in a Resource Room require supplementary small-group instruction to meet IEP goals and strengthen academic and functional skills. Students’ cognitive skills are generally within the below-average to average range. Student learning characteristics significantly impact academic achievement
based on standardized assessment and other measures.
Primary Areas of Need
Targeted support may focus on reading, writing, math, executive functioning, study skills, and/or social-emotional or social-communication skills, as indicated on the IEP.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
Skill development aligned with IEP goals and general education demands.
Setting
Resource Room is specialized supplemental instruction in a small group (max 5:1) setting for a portion of the school day.
Supports and Services
- Targeted supplemental instruction in areas of academic deficit;
- Support for organization and executive functioning;
- Reinforcement of classroom skills;
- Collaboration with general education staff.
Direct Consultant Teaching – Grades K-5
In the Direct Consultant Teacher model, a special education teacher provides direct instruction and support to the student within the general education classroom to address specific skill areas identified on the IEP. This model is suited for students who generally follow the grade-level curriculum but need targeted support in one or more areas such as reading, writing, math, or executive functioning (organization, planning, and task completion). The Consultant Teacher collaborates with the classroom teacher to adjust instructional strategies, provide accommodations, and explicitly teach skills and learning strategies that promote greater independence and success.
Anticipated Pathway: Regents or Local Diploma
Learner Characteristics
Students with IEPs who are pursuing a high school diploma and who need direct special education support in core classes. Students’ cognitive skills are generally within the below-average to average range. These students typically have academic achievement deficits in one or more academic areas.
Primary Areas of Need
- Receptive/expressive language deficits that impact access to curriculum;
- Reading comprehension or attention deficits;
- Social-pragmatic language weaknesses;
- Executive functioning challenges.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
- General education curriculum with accommodations and direct instruction provided collaboratively.
- May need help with organization, planning, and self-advocacy.
Setting
General education classrooms.
Supports and Services
- Push-in, specially designed instruction;
- Direct instruction from a special education teacher;
- Scaffolding and modified materials;
- Collaboration with general education staff;
- Assistive technology as needed;
- Collaboration between special and general education staff.
Indirect Consultant Teaching – Grades K-5
In the Indirect Consultant Teacher model, the special education teacher primarily supports the student by consulting with the general education teacher. This model is appropriate for students who can access the grade-level curriculum with minimal direct special education support but benefit from thoughtfully planned accommodations, instructional strategies, and ongoing progress monitoring. The special education teacher and classroom teacher work together on planning, differentiation, and problem-solving so that the student’s IEP is implemented effectively within the general education setting. Indirect Consultant Teacher services are often used in combination with Direct Consultant Teacher services to provide a coordinated level of support.
Anticipated Pathway: Regents or Local Diploma
Learner Characteristics
Students who can access general education curriculum successfully with consultative support. Students’ cognitive skills are generally within the below-average to average range. These students typically have academic achievement deficits in one or more academic areas.
Primary Areas of Need
Mild academic, organizational, or executive functioning needs.
Curriculum/Focus Areas
- General education curriculum with ongoing monitoring to ensure effective accommodations;
- Special education teacher consults with the general education teacher to adapt strategies, accommodations, and classroom supports; the student does not receive direct special education instruction.
Setting
General education classrooms.
Supports and Services
- Regular consultation between special and general education teachers;
- No direct instruction to the student;
- Progress monitoring;
- Focus on independence and self-advocacy.