When receiving your child’s class placement letter, if there are two teacher’s names on the class list it means your child has been placed in an integrated co-teaching classroom. This document is designed to answer some of the questions you may have regarding integrated co- teaching. Currently, at Mamaroneck Avenue and Ridgeway there is one section of integrated co-teaching at each grade level. General education students are randomly placed into the ICT class in the same manner as they are placed into the other classrooms. Please feel free to reach out to the building principal or director of special education if you have additional questions.

Inclusive Schooling

What is an inclusive school environment?

White Plains City School District strives to be an inclusive school setting. That means all students have the right to be educated within their home district with the appropriate supports and services necessary to meet their unique learning needs. Integrated co-teaching is one of the educational practices the district utilizes in order to support students, with learning differences, within the general education classroom.

What is the rationale for an ICT classroom?

ICT is aligned with the tenets of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which require that all students be exposed to the same rigorous curriculum and that education be provided within the least restrictive environment (LRE).
ICT is a research based educational practice. The research has demonstrated that outcomes are better for all students who are educated within an ICT classroom.
All students within an ICT classroom have access to the Common Core Curriculum. The curriculum, materials, methods of presentation, or methods of student output may be adapted to meet the individual learning needs of all the students in the classroom. In other words, the curriculum is differentiated based on student ability.
Educating students within the classroom, decreases the fragmentation of the student’s day. Pulling a student out of the classroom is minimized thereby decreasing missed content and the stigmatization of leaving the room.
With two teachers in a classroom, the students spend more of their day in small group instruction.

What is integrated co-teaching (ICT)?

Integrated co- teaching is when a general education and a special education teacher share responsibility for all students within the general education classroom.
The state regulations allow for up to half the class (but no more than 12) students with IEP’s be included within an integrated co- teaching classroom.
ICT offers different models of teaching that teachers may utilize based on content and student need. The models have the ability to break students into smaller groups thereby decreasing the student to teacher ratio and decreasing the amount of large group instruction.
Having two teachers in the classroom allows for flexible groupings of students based on ability or content. The groups can be homogeneous, meaning all students in the group are at a similar level or heterogeneous, meaning students of mixed ability are in the same group. As the instructional leaders in the classroom, teachers utilize a variety of models and flexible groupings in order to enhance student learning.

What might you see in an ICT classroom?

Special Education Parent Resources

Please click on the links below:

Contact Us

Dr. Karen Tesik
Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Pupil Services
Office 914-422-2034
Fax 914-422-2311
Email

Susan LeCointe-Dorsett
Director of Elementary Special Education
914-422-2037
Email

Dr. Noreen Urso
Interim Special Education Director - Secondary
Office 914-422-2037
Fax 914-422-2311
Email

Sara Hall
School Counseling Services
914-422-3675
Email

Magaly Racioppo
Medical & Health Services
422-2011
Email

Ilka Marino
Family Information Center
422-2038
Email

Steven Seltzer
CPSE Chairperson
914-422-5747
Email

Christina DePaola
CSE Chairperson Grades K-3
914-422-8295
Email

David Acevedo
CSE Chairperson Grades 4-6
914-422-2252
Email

Keri Levine
CSE Chairperson Grades 7-9
914-422-2035
Email

Dan Furry
CSE Chairperson Grades 10 to age 21
914-422-2527
Email