In an effort to provide support and reduce costs to families with
children with disabilities, the
Warren-Saratoga-Washington-Hamilton-Essex BOCES center has opened the
doors to a new middle school for children with special needs just in
time for the new school year.
Catering to 31 school districts, officials from BOCES and area superintendents discussed the feasibility of an intermediate school strictly to provide much needed support for students with disabilities with a focus on emotional and behavioral challenges. This fall, 39 students from 19 districts will be attending St. Joseph's on Washington Street in Fort Edward.
In recent years, school districts in the WSWHE BOCES have expressed a need to collaborate with each other to develop a cost-effective solution to educating the area's most fragile students.
"The needs of this student population are changing. Many of our special needs students were being sent to Albany for special education programs," said Lisa Quinn, director of special education at WSWHE BOCES. "St. Joseph's will prove to be more cost and time efficient for the students and their families."
For most districts, the cost to educate one special needs student will drop from nearly $100,000 to $38,500 with reduction in transportation and lower tuition than schools in Albany, Quinn said. The facility, formerly the St. Joseph's Montessori School in Fort Edward, is being leased to WSWHE BOCES from the Diocese of Albany and the lease payments, based on district enrollment and state aid, will be shared by all 31 component school districts in the WSWHE BOCES. However, only those districts sending students to St. Joseph's will pay their students' tuition.
In each classroom, individual attention is a main component of learning with a very low student-to-teacher ratio. Each classroom will only consist of six students, one teacher and one special education teacher, social worker or speech and language pathologist.
"Each student will benefit from the focused attention to individual needs and having the presence of two teachers in the room," Quinn said.
Each student who attends St. Joseph's will have an individual plan that was made up specifically for their needs. Students are also able to attend school during the traditional school year, and those with more advanced needs have the option of an extended school year. While St. Joseph's only caters to students in grades six through eight, BOCES offers high school programs at their sites at Dix Avenue in Fort Edward and at the Myers Learning Center in Saratoga Springs.
"We want to do the best we can to serve the students with special needs population and we want to provide services on a continuum until they graduate," Quinn said.
On Friday, September 4, BOCES hosted a public celebration to mark the opening of its first new school in more than 20 years.
"St. Joseph's will fill an education gap between elementary school and high school and we believe that this program will be beneficial to so many students and their families in our area," Quinn added.
This year's enrollment includes nine students from across Saratoga County. The first day of school took place on Tuesday, September 8.
For more information about WSWHE BOCES or St. Joseph's, please visit www.wswheboces.org
or call (518) 581-3830 or
(518) 746-3830.
In recent years, school districts in the WSWHE BOCES have expressed a need to collaborate with each other to develop a cost-effective solution to educating the area's most fragile students.
"The needs of this student population are changing. Many of our special needs students were being sent to Albany for special education programs," said Lisa Quinn, director of special education at WSWHE BOCES. "St. Joseph's will prove to be more cost and time efficient for the students and their families."
For most districts, the cost to educate one special needs student will drop from nearly $100,000 to $38,500 with reduction in transportation and lower tuition than schools in Albany, Quinn said. The facility, formerly the St. Joseph's Montessori School in Fort Edward, is being leased to WSWHE BOCES from the Diocese of Albany and the lease payments, based on district enrollment and state aid, will be shared by all 31 component school districts in the WSWHE BOCES. However, only those districts sending students to St. Joseph's will pay their students' tuition.
In each classroom, individual attention is a main component of learning with a very low student-to-teacher ratio. Each classroom will only consist of six students, one teacher and one special education teacher, social worker or speech and language pathologist.
"Each student will benefit from the focused attention to individual needs and having the presence of two teachers in the room," Quinn said.
Each student who attends St. Joseph's will have an individual plan that was made up specifically for their needs. Students are also able to attend school during the traditional school year, and those with more advanced needs have the option of an extended school year. While St. Joseph's only caters to students in grades six through eight, BOCES offers high school programs at their sites at Dix Avenue in Fort Edward and at the Myers Learning Center in Saratoga Springs.
"We want to do the best we can to serve the students with special needs population and we want to provide services on a continuum until they graduate," Quinn said.
On Friday, September 4, BOCES hosted a public celebration to mark the opening of its first new school in more than 20 years.
"St. Joseph's will fill an education gap between elementary school and high school and we believe that this program will be beneficial to so many students and their families in our area," Quinn added.
This year's enrollment includes nine students from across Saratoga County. The first day of school took place on Tuesday, September 8.
For more information about WSWHE BOCES or St. Joseph's, please visit www.wswheboces.org
or call (518) 581-3830 or
(518) 746-3830.
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