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Riverhead schools outline expanded special-education services and districtwide literacy screening
Summary
The Riverhead Central School District detailed current and planned special education services for 2025–26, including expanded integrated co-teaching, districtwide SPIRE reading instruction, a dyslexia evaluation pathway and shifts in placement models across elementary and secondary schools.
Melissa DeRosa, director of special education for the Riverhead Central School District, presented a districtwide review of special education programming at the board’s April 29 meeting, describing current services and projected changes for the 2025–26 school year.
DeRosa told the board the district has implemented a special education manual intended to align programming and services across schools and to help staff and parents understand placement decisions. She described program models used by the district, including consultant teacher services (CT), Resource Room, integrated co-teaching (ICT), and specialized classroom ratios such as 15:1:1, 12:1:1 (BSD) and 8:1:1. DeRosa said SPIRE, a structured literacy program used for reading, is in use in resource rooms and as a related service and that the district is piloting an INSPIRE program for math.
DeRosa outlined how program models differ by level. At the elementary level, she said the district uses half-day ICT in some buildings with a teaching assistant pushing in for the second half of the day; next year the district is projecting several shifts to a full-day ICT model with TA push-in support in specific grades. She described a planned expansion of 15:1:1 sections in some buildings and a new kindergarten–first-grade 15:1:1 option where students had previously been placed in 12:1:1. DeRosa also explained that students placed in a 12:1:1 BSD at elementary level remain in their elementary building through fifth grade before transitioning to middle school BSD placements.
At the secondary level, DeRosa said the district has been implementing AIS/regents support classes aligned with ICT and is collecting data on how students pass regents exams. She said the district plans to implement ICT Algebra 2 to maintain the continuum from middle to high school.
District supports described included a district bilingual speech provider and evaluator, a district assistive-technology (AT) provider/evaluator, two in‑district behaviorists at the secondary level who will train other staff, agency‑based behaviorists placed in elementary buildings, and a planned district dyslexia evaluation process using the Test of Dyslexia (TODD). DeRosa said the district is developing criteria and a referral pathway for TODD evaluations.
Board members praised the multi‑year work and asked clarifying questions about screening and tiered interventions. One board member noted that SPIRE is a Tier 2 intervention and asked what more intensive options the district would offer for students who do not respond; DeRosa said she is trained in multiple structured literacy approaches and that staff must match instruction to student needs.
DeRosa emphasized the presentation is subject to change as annual reviews proceed and student needs are reassessed. Board members thanked her for the presentation and for the instructional and assessment supports being added to the district’s continuum.
Ending: The presentation concluded with board acknowledgment of the department’s work and an affirmation that the district will continue tracking data on pilot programs and regents outcomes as placements and services are adjusted next year.
