Special Education in the Ithaca City School District

In the Ithaca City School District’s Special Education programs, “inclusive” is the word of the day. To the greatest extent possible, students with special needs work alongside Gen-Ed students in traditional classrooms. Sheila McEnery, Special Education Director at the Ithaca City School District, said that not only is inclusion best for the students, but it’s required by the State.

“By law, students have to access the general education curriculum…all students have to take the state exams,” said McEnery.

Special Education students are provided with several layers of support by the District. Appropriate materials are provided depending on each student’s individual needs.

The Ithaca City School District, in conjunction with TST Boces, houses a Deaf Education program. In the case of hearing-impaired students, supports could include interpreters, note-takers, and other services. All students in New York State must pass the Regents Exams to graduate high school, and the services they receive guide Deaf Education students to earning the same diploma as every other student.

“Children in the Deaf-Ed program are Regents-bound. They all work toward a Regents diploma,” McEnery said. “They are in general education classrooms, they’re acquiring credits like their non Deaf Ed peers.”

Inclusion for Special Education students has been achieved to a much greater degree now than it had been in the past, and this is a trend that goes beyond Tompkins County.

“So there is more integration of students with disabilities certainly than there has been in the past, certainly since I’ve been in the profession, which is, you know, well over twenty years ago. But we need to continue our efforts,” McEnery said.

          

Cheryl Button is an administrator at TST-Boces'

Exceptional Education program. In an e-mail interview, I asked her what are

some of the biggest challenges faced by hearing-impaired students while job

hunting or applying to colleges after they graduate.



"Becoming advocates for themselves," Button said.



Hearing-impaired students also face the challenge of finding their own

interpreters after graduation.

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--Eric Raue