Special Education
We serve a wide variety of students with special needs. We provide ICT, SETSS, and related services as needed. Our philosophy is that all students should have access to the general education curriculum and be able to learn in their own way. We believe all students should learn about themselves as learners so they are prepared for life after high school- college or careers. In preparation for that, we believe that students should understand the nature of their specific disability and the accompanying services, especially why they are receiving them.
Our services are very intensive in grades 9 and 10 and we taper services off as much as possible in grades 11 and 12 to prepare students for the college experience and to encourage self-advocacy for their needs. We have had much success in this area with a 100% graduation rate for students with disabilities and a 100% college acceptance rate for students with disabilities. In fact, our students have felt so supported by our team that we still receive emails/google documents of their college assignments asking for future support!
Integrated Co-Teaching
The integrated co-teaching (I.C.T.) model is meant to help students with disabilities access the general education curriculum with accommodations and support. As such, student expectations for tests and homework assignments are the same as for general education students. Additionally, we provide all testing accommodations and support as listed on student IEPs. If a student demonstrates that the general education curriculum as presented is too difficult, we meet as a special education team to decide the next steps.
Students with disabilities make up 40% of each ICT class. This equates to approximately 13-14 students. There is a special education teacher in all 4 core classes throughout the 4 grade levels. We provide a wrap-around approach to support services. This approach has proven to be successful because students with disabilities are exposed to a variety of strategies appropriate to the content. The team meets weekly and cohesively provides support to all students across content areas.
S.E.T.S.S.
Students may receive special education teacher support services (S.E.T.S.S.) in a separate location outside the general education classroom. These services may target executive function skills, reading and writing skill intervention, and/or math skill intervention. For executive functioning, Millennium High School utilizes Sarah Ward's strategies. Some reading interventions include the Wilson Reading Program, REWARDS, REWARDS+, Kansas Sentence Writing, and CSR. Math intervention typically focuses on numeracy and computation skill remediation to support students in accessing grade-level curriculum demands.
Related Services
Students may receive related services including Speech and Language intervention, Hearing Services, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Counseling. To meet the demands of our yearly caseload, Millennium High School has employed a full-time Speech and Language Therapist who meets with students for individual and group sessions. For students with mandated Counseling and counseling-related IEP goals, Millennium High School has three full-time counselors and a full-time social worker. Additionally, Millennium has partnered with NYU to provide art therapy for students with specific emotional needs.
I.E.P. Case Management
IEPs are case-managed by two members of the special education department. IEP case managers gather information, hold IEP meetings, coordinate services, and correspond with families as needed. IEP meetings are held in the fall to ensure that your student's annual plan most closely reflects their needs and goals. Families are provided with multiple progress reports alongside report cards (four times per year) that detail the progress students have made on individual IEP goals.
Who We Are
Our team truly loves what we do and we strive to provide a community where students feel accepted and free to learn in a way that is best for them in high school and beyond.
