fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Submit Your Event
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Send Letter to the Editor
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Saugerties Central School District audits its special education programs

by Crispin Kott
April 15, 2025
in Education
0

The Saugerties Central School District (SCSD) recently conducted an audit of its special education programs in an effort to best serve the close to 20 percent of its student population who receive purpose-built services. 

Jamie Churchill joined the SCSD as director of special education prior to the 2023-24 school year. She jumped into the role feet first, working with director of pupil personnel services Lisajane Kappler and others to audit of the district’s special education services and considering where it might make improvements. 

Churchill shared an audit follow-up presentation with the board of education during a meeting held on Tuesday, April 6. 

Including out of district placements, the SCSD currently has 560 students receiving some level of customized instruction, programs and support services tailored to address the individual needs of students with disabilities. That figure includes 59 out of district placements, and 30 parental placements. It does not include the 71 students with disabilities in preschool. 

Of those students, 163 were identified as having a learning disability, 146 have other health impairments, 116 have a speech or language impairment and 58 have autism. Other listed disabilities are emotional disturbance (5), intellectual disability (3), hearing impairment (2), and multiple disabilities (23). Some of that data can be found in the district’s Special Education Services Plan 2024-2026, and are current as of November of last year. That plan was approved by the school board in December. 

For the 2025-26 school year, the SCSD is planning on expanding its integrated co-teaching offerings in each of its elementary schools. Currently they received focused ELA and math services for grades 2-4; next year that will grow to cover grades K-6. 

Another addition for 2025-26 is the Academic Behavior Communication Academy at the junior high school. 

“Due to the need of the sixth graders moving up to seventh grade, we’ve got about four or five students that would have to be placed in out-of-district placement if they didn’t have this program,” Churchill said, adding that it will not require the hiring of a new teacher, but will instead see current teachers handle the duties. 

Most school districts are unable to offer a wide enough range of services to meet the needs of all of its students, so many are sent elsewhere. The SCSD’s out of district placements include Ulster BOCES (20), Wraparound Services of the Hudson Valley (13) and the Center for Spectrum Services (10). Of the district’s parental placements, 15 are at Woodstock Day School, 15 at Middle Way, a Saugerties-based nonpublic school centered around Buddhism that received its charter from the New York State Board of Regents in 2024, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

In-district, the SCSD receives alternative learning mental health support from the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center.

Churchill said the district plans to increase academic rigor for its special ed students, and is also working to assemble a parent counseling and training initiative. 

“It’s falling a little bit flat each year, but we are still working on it,” she said. 

More successful was a sixth grade transition night, geared toward helping families and students prepare for a shift from elementary to secondary school. 

“We had several families come in and even the special ed teachers,” Churchill said. 

Among the goals of the special education services is to see more consistent gains in the graduation rate for four-year, five-year and six-year cohorts. Those figures for all students in the district have generally fallen between 84.13-89.29 percent over the past three years. 

But among students with disabilities they’ve fluctuated more. 

For the four-year cohort, the highest graduation rate for students with disabilities was 2024, at 75 percent, or 27 of the 36 enrolled in the cohort. The lowest in that cohort was 18 of 32 students in 2023, a percentage of 56.25. 

The same disparities are seen in the students with disabilities graduation rates of the five year (70.83 percent in 2023, 55.56 in 2022) and six year (73.68 in 2022, 58.33 in 2023) cohorts. 

For more information on the SCSD Special Education Department, including the Special Education Services Plan, visit: https://www.saugerties.k12.ny.us/departments/special-education

Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher

Crispin Kott

Crispin Kott was born in Chicago, raised in New York and has called everywhere from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Atlanta home. A music historian and failed drummer, he’s written for numerous print and online publications and has shared with his son Ian and daughter Marguerite a love of reading, writing and record collecting.

 Crispin Kott is the co-author of the Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to New York City (Globe Pequot Press, June 2018), the Little Book of Rock and Roll Wisdom (Lyons Press, October 2018), and the Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area (Globe Pequot Press, May 2021).

Related Posts

Kingston parents say remote instruction not as effective as in-person
Education

Parents challenge program’s fit with Montessori at George Washington Elementary

May 25, 2025
Write-ins decide New Paltz School Board election
Education

Write-ins decide New Paltz School Board election

May 22, 2025
Kingston residents split on cops in schools
Education

Ulster County 2025 school election results

May 23, 2025
The Duzine Literacy Action Plan is still finding a balance between science and fun
Education

Community forum explores potential closure of Duzine Elementary School

May 19, 2025
A celebration of more than 2,400 at SUNY New Paltz commencement
Education

A celebration of more than 2,400 at SUNY New Paltz commencement

May 19, 2025
LETTER: New Paltz United Teachers endorse write-in candidates for the board of education
Education

LETTER: New Paltz United Teachers endorse write-in candidates for the board of education

May 14, 2025
Next Post
Ulster County event guide for 4/17-23

Ulster County event guide for 4/17-23

Weather

Kingston, NY
61°
Rain Shower
5:23 am8:23 pm EDT
Feels like: 61°F
Wind: 3mph SSW
Humidity: 73%
Pressure: 30.22"Hg
UV index: 0
ThuFriSat
70°F / 55°F
79°F / 57°F
66°F / 48°F
powered by Weather Atlas

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Art
    • Books
    • Kids
    • Lifestyle & Wellness
    • Food & Drink
    • Music
    • Nature
    • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletters
    • Hey Kingston
    • New Paltz Times
    • Woodstock Times
    • Week in Review

© 2022 Ulster Publishing