Halfway through the first year of collaboration between the Island Trees/SCOPE Preschool Program and the BOCES Special Education Preschool, featuring unique integration between special education and mainstream preschoolers, the program has been declared a success and a model for others. In an effort to try to encourage the state to help fund other programs of this sort, BOCES invited New York State Regent James Dawson, from Plattsburgh, to tour the facilities and see how beneficial the integration has been for both Island Trees and BOCES.

This past Tuesday Dawson, though not the Regent for Long Island, came to Island Trees and toured both the Gallow and Karopczyc Schools and listened to Island Trees Superintendent Richard Segerdahl, Nassau BOCES Superintendent Dr. Jerry Shiveley, BOCES Director of Special Education Russell Riggio, and Principal of Nassau BOCES Special Education Preschool Program Susan Martello explain why this collaboration has been so successful for both BOCES and Island Trees.

In 1999, Segerdahl first brought the idea of a joint program between Island Trees and BOCES to the attention of the Island Trees Board of Education. Toward the end of the 1998-99 school year the board approved a lease with BOCES for the two buildings for a period of 10 years. That March the board had approved a resolution terminating the lease the district had with the South Shore Christian School. This move was made by the Island Trees administration and board because it was recognized that the Island Trees preschoolers would benefit tremendously from the enhanced services offered by BOCES and the district as a whole would benefit from the renovations that BOCES planned to accommodate their program.

At the time of the district's decision to take on BOCES as a tenant, Segerdahl noted the various ways in which the Island Trees/SCOPE Preschool program would benefit. The BOCES services, which the district's program did not previously offer, included: a preschool playground; an outside tricycle track; cultural arts programs; physical education instructor and age appropriate physical education equipment; the shared services of BOCES' speech, occupational and physical therapists for Island Trees students who may need support; the resources and knowledge of psychologists and social workers when needed; a day and evening custodian to maintain the Gallow building and clean the preschool classrooms at the end of the day; an on-site, full time nurse; the services of a full time principal and assistant principal; a full time security aide; inservicing for the Island Trees Preschool staff; a preschool curriculum that coordinates with the new state standards; instructional material resources; and building secretaries. These additional services are provided to Island Trees preschoolers at the same price as before, $8.70 a day. BOCES benefited by being afforded the opportunity to integrate their students in with non-special education students, mainstreaming them gradually.

Riggio told Regent Dawson, "This is a marriage that has worked out wonderfully for the Island Trees district and for us." When the Regent questioned how many districts benefit from this program, Riggio explained that though the Island Trees portion of the program is only open to residents of that school district, all the districts in Nassau County are eligible to send their special education preschoolers to the BOCES program. Riggio explained that they had this program and a similar one in Long Beach and through these two preschool programs will have served 335 children by the end of the year. Riggio further noted that early intervention is essential for many of these students, in order for them to eventually be mainstreamed and this program allows for earlier intervention.

According to Riggio, Nassau BOCES is one of the only public school preschool special education programs in the metro area and it is the only integrated program in the state. Riggio then questioned Dawson as to why it was being made so difficult for BOCES to stay in the special education business. He explained that through this integration process better than 80 percent of the students in the special education program would not need to continue in special education. "Preschool makes sense for special education students. If services are just provided at home, in a disjointed way, kids lose out," added Riggio. Through this integrated program BOCES and Island Trees ensure than not just special education students benefit, but that children in the Island Trees program are also able to learn and grow through this collaboration.