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Berkeley Heights highlights growth to 85% inclusion rate, expands 18'21 transition programming
Summary
Directors said the district's inclusion rate for students with IEPs rose to 85% and outlined initiatives including co-teaching, preschool inclusion grants, multisensory literacy training and a Highlander Elite 18'21 transition program; administrators reported 391 students with IEPs districtwide.
Kevin Mora, the district's director of special education, and supervisor Alyssa Rush gave the board a wide-ranging progress report on special education that emphasized inclusive instruction and postsecondary planning for students with IEPs.
————————Mora said Berkeley Heights has made sustained investments in co-teaching, related services and multidisciplinary planning and reported a district inclusion metric that has moved from roughly 68% several years ago to 85% of students with IEPs educated in general-education settings for most of the day. "We are currently at 85%," he said, calling the improvement "over 16% growth" and crediting teachers, child-study teams and related-service staff.
The presentation covered initiatives at multiple levels: an integrated preschool model, co-teaching at elementary grades, expanded supports at the secondary level, a multisensory literacy training cohort for special-education teachers, and the Highlander Elite 18'21 transition program for young adults with intensive needs. Rush described the Highlander Elite schedule: morning instruction focused on life and vocational skills and afternoon community-based internships supported by job coaches. She said the program currently serves about seven students, including two who receive ABA services.
Administrators also discussed data and feedback collection: staff and parent surveys (including a postsecondary outcomes survey for 2023 and 2024 graduates), classroom walk-throughs, and targeted staff development. Mora and Rush said staff feedback highlighted the need for more planning time for collaborative lesson design and more focused professional development around inclusive practices and executive-function support.
Mora provided a head-count: "From preschool to postgrad, we're at 391 students with IEPs," he said, and he offered to return with additional breakdowns (504 plans, ABA enrollment and grade-level distribution) on request. Board members pressed for clarity on subgroup reporting, the interaction of FRPL/ELL/special-education categories and the degree to which district scheduling (master-schedule constraints at the high school) limits joint planning time.
Administrators described transition practices for incoming cohorts (including coordination with Mountainside sending district), a person-centered secondary transition initiative with the Rutgers Boggs Center, and plans to reevaluate progress in December to inform spring action steps. The board directed administrators to continue refining data collection so the district can identify targeted interventions where subgroups show lagging performance.
