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District plans preschool integration, new MD high-school course and keeps IEPs in RealTime for now
Summary
Student-services directors outlined special-education changes: convert two preschool-disability classrooms into four preschool-integrated classrooms supported by a New Jersey PEEP grant; add a high-school MD (multiple disabilities) course and ESY relocation; district will move to Genesis SIS but IEPs/504s will remain in RealTime pending evaluation.
Chris Boclio and Helena Bronco Gonzalez, the district's directors of student services, told the board about multiple changes to special-education programming and student-support systems.
They said the district will transition two preschool-disability classrooms into four preschool-integrated classrooms next school year. The move is supported by a New Jersey PEEP grant and by consulting help from Montclair State University; staff said the preschool team is fully on board and expects the change to expand inclusion opportunities while preserving supports identified in individual IEPs. Paraprofessional assignments and IEP-driven decisions will determine whether students receive 1:1, 2:1 or classroom-leader support; staff said students who do not immediately succeed in an inclusive setting can transition back to specialized placements as teams determine.
Directors also described program expansions at the secondary level: a new MD program (multiple disabilities) will be added at the high school and an ESY (extended-school-year) program was relocated from North Boulevard to the high school last year to support transitions. Work-based learning and community partnerships were highlighted as areas of growth, and an expanded SAT-prep course — open to roughly 50 students — produced gains for a majority of participants, with some students improving by as much as 130 points, staff said.
On technology and recordkeeping, the district is implementing a new college-and-career platform called Score and moving toward Genesis as the new student-information system. Staff emphasized that IEPs and 504 plans will continue to be maintained in RealTime for now; Genesis has an IEP module, but the district prefers to let vendors mature before transferring special-education records. The presenters said they are evaluating whether and when to migrate those documents.
Board members and parents asked practical questions about platform features, mailing requirements tied to a new law on present levels (PLAAFP), and how parents will receive documents and meeting attendance lists prior to annual IEP meetings. Directors said the state law (PL 2025 C107 discussed in the meeting) requires certain mailings by July 2026 but that the district is working with the county and with case managers to implement the email and, when necessary, mail alternatives while tracking proof of mailing.
