Programs for Young Children with Special Needs

Itinerant Services

Parents bring their child to their neighborhood school to receive services such as speech and language therapy.

For: 3- and 4-year-olds

Services at Head Start

Children who attend Head Start can receive services at their program sites.

For: 3- to 5-year-olds

Services in Pre-k or Kindergarten

City Schools’ students in general education pre-k or kindergarten programs receive special instruction or related services during the school day. IEP goals and objectives become part of daily classroom routines and instruction. Services are provided in or outside the regular classroom, in accordance with each child’s IEP. General educators can receive support with IEP implementation through the Collaborative Consultation Model. 

For: Pre-k and kindergarten students

When: Full day, 5 days a week

Citywide Preschool Special Education Programs

Partners Program

This program offers a full-inclusion setting for pre-k and kindergarten children with disabilities who show emerging social, communication, and academic skills. Students participate in a general education classroom for most of the day and receive additional support for part of the day through a special education co-teaching model. Children with and without IEPs receive grade-appropriate instruction in a highly structured, routines-based classroom that uses visual and sensory supports.

For: Pre-k and kindergarten students
When: Full day, 5 days per week

Let’s Grow Half-Day

Children with and without IEPs work together, learning in a language-rich environment with teaching strategies designed to help them meet developmental milestones. The curriculum focuses on social skills and developmentally appropriate skills of concentration, coordination, and independence. 

For: 3- and 4-year-olds (who are too young for pre-k)
When: 2.5 hours, 5 days per week

Let’s Grow Full-Day

Children with IEPs work in small group settings outside of the general education setting for approximately half of the school day. Children join a general education class for the other half of the day, where they work with their peers to develop social skills while learning academic content. 

For: Pre-k and kindergarten students 
When: Full day, 5 days per week

Early Learning Environment (ELE)

Children with developmental delays who need more intensive specialized instruction learn in a separate classroom for most of the day. It is a highly structured, routines-based classroom that uses a multisensory approach to learning and gives children many opportunities to practice new skills. 

For: 3- and 4-year-olds (who are too young for pre-k)
When: 2.5 hours, 5 days per week
For: Pre-k and kindergarten students
When: Full day, 5 days per week

Early Therapeutic Environment (ETE)

This program offers a small, separate class for children whose social, emotional, or behavioral needs cannot be met in the general education setting.  Instructional strategies within the grade-appropriate curriculum include specialized classwide behavior management, clear and consistent rules and routines,
positive behavior supports, crisis intervention, and therapeutic support from full-time behavioral specialists. 

For: Pre-k and kindergarten students
When: Full day, 5 days per week

Early Learning Environment–Auditory/Oral

This full-day program provides a language-rich environment, where children experience an academic curriculum while concentrating on communication and
thinking skills. Teachers are specialists in working with hearing-impaired children and make use of ear-level frequency modulation (FM) systems that help students develop speech, language, and auditory skills. 

For: 3- and 4-year-olds and pre-k and kindergarten students with hearing aids/cochlear implants
When: Full day, 5 days per week