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Special-education leader outlines services for about 2,300 students, highlights transition programs
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Summary
Pam Smolci told the Utica City School District board her department manages 'a little over 2,300 students' in special education, described placements and partnerships (BOCES, Upstate Caring Partners, OPWDD, ICAN) and outlined transition programs including AccessVR, Pre-ETS and ARC school-to-work options.
Pam Smolci presented an overview of the district’s special education services, saying the department currently manages "a little over 2,300 students" and emphasizing programs designed to prepare students for life after high school.
Smolci told the board the department oversees more than 2,000 students classified under the Committee on Special Education (K–12), about 175 preschool students (ages 3–5) and 132 students receiving services under Section 504 plans. "A little over 2,300 students managed under the special education department," she said.
Why it matters: Smolci placed the department’s work in the district mission and the Commissioner's regulations, explaining that the special education mission aims to "provide high quality programs to promote our students' unique learning needs while following the regulations of the commissioner of education, which we refer to as part 200." That regulatory framework is used to review classification, subgroup performance and program placement decisions.
Smolci described the department’s staffing and placement structure: six CSE chair people, special education teachers, teacher assistants, related service providers and clerical support. She reviewed the continuum of services from least restrictive environments in-district (for example, 15:1 groupings) to out-of-district placements. She said roughly 53 students attend programs in the local BOCES region (Oneida, Herkimer, Madison) in center-based or school-based settings and named partners including Madison-Oneida BOCES and Upstate Caring Partners (formerly Upstate Cerebral Palsy).
On transition and employment supports, Smolci outlined multiple programs aimed at secondary students. She said vocational services come through AccessVR, an Office of Adult Career and Continuing Education Services program, and described Pre-ETS (a partnership with OHM BOCES and NBCC) and in-district career specialists who work with referred special-education students on work-ready skills. She also highlighted district-hosted ARC school-to-work half-day programs, the BASE (Building Abilities and Skills for Employment) program offered by UCP, and the COPS career opportunity program at Proctor.
Smolci emphasized that many programs are voluntary and that referrals typically begin with a teacher or guidance counselor; families must sign consent and complete additional paperwork for referrals to agencies such as OPWDD. "Typically, it's the referral from either their special education teacher or their guidance counselor," she said of AccessVR, adding that parents can also initiate referrals.
She also described planned professional development on function-of-behavior analysis, ongoing classroom redesign work with the Tim Academy, and classroom-based behavior support through ICAN specialists. Smolci said the district is discussing Therapeutic Crisis Intervention to help staff prevent, de-escalate and manage crises.
Board members asked follow-up questions about the Raiders rally location, the number and placement of ICAN behavior specialists in 811 classrooms, and how parents can request evaluations; Smolci answered each. The board thanked her for the presentation and photos highlighting student events, including a Raiders rally and an extended school year carnival.
The board did not take any formal action during the presentation; members requested (and later reiterated) that presentation materials be provided to the board in hard copy when feasible.
