Paterson, NJ: District to add 6 to 10 preschool autism classrooms; 100 kindergarten students
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
PATERSON, NJ - Dale Avenue School could soon become home to a specialized in-district program for students with disabilities under a proposal officials say would expand special education services while reducing costly out-of-district placements.
During Wednesday's Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Special Education and Services Cheryl Coy outlined a plan to reconfigure Dale Avenue School into a kindergarten through fifth-grade specialized program beginning in the 2026-27 school year, with a future expansion planned for Norman S. Weir School.
“A public separate is a school setting that allows us to house an entire population of students with disabilities with a higher level of resources within the district," Coy said.
Coy said the proposal would create “a full continuum of alternative placement” for students requiring specialized services while allowing the district to increase program control and reduce dependence on outside placements.
According to Coy, the district currently operates 194 self-contained classrooms, including 154 at the elementary level and 40 at the high school level. She said the district also serves approximately 5,200 special education students overall.
“We potentially need anywhere from six to 10 new MD [Multiple Disabilities) autism classrooms right now to accommodate incoming preschool students transitioning from the MD autism program, as well as 18 students who have already gone through the process and are looking to return to the district,” Coy said.
Coy described mounting financial pressure tied to out-of-district placements, noting that about 100 kindergarten students are currently pending placement for the 2026-27 school year in addition to the 18 students expected to return to district schools.
“If we were to place those 118 students out-of-district, we would start the 2026-27 school year off by a $9.8 million deficit,” she said.
Coy said state aid reimbursement averages between $24,000 and $26,000 per student, while out-of-district tuition costs range from $35,000 to $100,000 per student and do not include transportation or related services such as nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and audiological support.
Board members questioned Coy about staffing, program capacity and whether the district could adequately support students returning from outside placements.
Commissioner Valerie Freeman asked whether the district would have enough staffing in place if the proposal moves forward.
“So being that we have 18 students coming back in, that funding is going to be reallocated to staffing,” Coy said. “We’re going to have a teacher in every class and provide the ratio of aides needed. We are increasing behavior support, related service support and child study team support, because what I don’t want to do is open it up and see it fail.”
Coy also said the district has approximately 402 students currently placed out-of-district, along with about 350 preschool-disabled students, highlighting what she described as ongoing capacity constraints across the system.
Coy also emphasized the community benefits of keeping students within the district.
“When they’re going out of district, they’re going out to a lot of new faces, and when they come home, they don’t see those faces again till the next school day,” she said. “It’s not community driven.”
Commissioner Alex Mendez Jr. asked about projected cost savings associated with bringing students back into district programs.
“We will save close to $7 million,” Coy said.
Coy added that staffing needs for the proposed expansion would require the district to hire additional teachers for new classrooms, but said existing vacancies and reallocated funding from returning students would help support those positions.
Under the plan edically fragile students would continue receiving services outside the district because Paterson does not currently have the specialized staffing needed to support those programs internally, Coy said.
Comments