Watertown district highlights Starbuck Elementary, expands in-district special education classrooms

Watertown City School District leaders and Starbuck Elementary staff used the Board of Education meeting at Starbuck on Monday to spotlight student work and explain three new in-district special education classrooms added for the 2025–26 school year.

District officials and Starbuck staff said the additions — an extra 12:1:3:1 classroom at Starbuck, an 8:1:1 classroom at Knickerbocker, and a 12:1:1 life-skills program at Watertown High School — expand capacity for students with significant cognitive, behavioral and life-skills needs and aim to reduce the number of students sent to out-of-district placements.

The district presentation described the 12:1:3:1 classroom as a self-contained setting for students with “significant cognitive, adaptive, physical, and medical needs” focused on functional life skills, communication and socialization. Brian Gabak, assistant coordinator of special education, said the program’s curriculum is individualized and designed to support “functional independence, communication, self-regulation and adaptive daily living skills.”

Christa Holland Kronk, the Starbuck 12:1:3:1 teacher, described the classroom staffing model and the program’s mission. “The 12:1:3:1 classroom serves 12 students, one teacher, and for every three students there’s one aide,” Holland Kronk said, and added the classroom is built on “dignity, inclusion and functional independence.” She said last year’s overcrowding had forced difficult placement questions; adding a classroom allowed some students who otherwise would have been moved to another site to remain at Starbuck with familiar routines and peers.

Teachers and aides named in the presentation — including Ally Steele and a roster of classroom aides — were credited for daily support that staff said makes the classrooms work. Starbuck fourth-grade teacher Darren Burgess and several students also read classwork and described school activities during the meeting, highlighting everyday classroom engagement.

Knickerbocker’s 8:1:1 classroom was described as a structured self-contained program for third- and fourth-grade students with intensive social, emotional and behavioral needs. Presenters said the 8:1:1 setting emphasizes emotional regulation, coping skills and close collaboration with school social workers, psychologists and behavioral specialists.

At Watertown High School, the 12:1:1 life-skills program is designed for older students needing smaller group instruction and direct transition supports. Teachers described community-based training opportunities, vocational experiences and a classroom-run coffee stand that funds community outings and job practice. A current student in the community-based training program told the board that working at a local mall taught time management and responsibility and increased his confidence.

District leaders framed the additions as consistent with the district’s strategic plan goals — particularly increasing graduation pathways through individualized instruction, improving student engagement, strengthening behavioral supports and enhancing infrastructure by providing accessible, adaptive classroom spaces. Presenters said the in-district options reduce reliance on more costly out-of-district placements and keep students in familiar community settings.

Parents of students in the programs read prepared statements at the meeting thanking the board for the additional classroom space and describing improved outcomes for their children. One parent, Jalicia Pitts, said the new classroom allowed her son to remain in a familiar school environment and described measurable academic and social growth.

The presentation closed with district leaders thanking special education staff, job coaches, and community partners who support classroom and community-based training.