Special Education Students Selected for Charter School

September 9, 2009

NEW YORK, NY September 08, 2009—The first charter school designed for a high number of special education students opens tomorrow on Staten Island.

Seventy-five students were selected by lottery for the first class of sixth graders at the James Lavelle Preparatory Charter School. Thirty of them have disabilities. The school’s president, Ken Byalin, says they’ll be evenly distributed across all classrooms with no more than 15 students per class.

BYALIN: It’s going to look like 75 sixth graders.There’s not going to be any way there’s anyone looking at the program is going to be able to tell who might have a special need and who wouldn’t.

He says the small class sizes were attractive to families when the school recruited among all incoming sixth graders on Staten Island – with additional outreach aimed at students with special needs. The school’s curriculum will include arts, foreign language, and a wellness class to help all students find their strengths. It’s sharing space with two other schools in a new building.