Student Support Services
The Department of Student Personnel Services serves children with special needs and their parents through individual special education programs. Our mission is to provide a comprehensive framework of services for children with special needs.
Contact Our Special Education Team
We welcome your questions. Please email a member of our team or call the office at (201) 261.7800 followed by the extension.
Our Services
Learn more about our comprehensive framework of services for children with special needs.
The Child Study Team
The Child Study Team (CST) is a group of dedicated professionals employed by the Paramus Board of Education who provides consultative, evaluative, and prescriptive services to teachers and parents with regard to students who are experiencing school related difficulties. The New Jersey Department of Education determines the members of the Child Study Team, which includes:
- A school psychologist who has expertise in determining a child’s level of cognitive and conceptual development. In addition, the psychologist is concerned with the emotional status of the student and how both internal and external factors may affect behavior and performance in school. The school psychologist works with both general education and special education teachers to maximize a student’s potential.
- A learning disabilities teacher-consultant (LDT-C) who works in collaboration with other members of the CST to determine eligibility for special services. LDT-Cs also consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to provide research-based instructional strategies to assist pupils struggling academically.
- A school social worker whose expertise lies in assessing the student relative to the family, the school, and the community. This professional generally gathers information concerning the student’s health, family, and school history as it pertains to the student’s current school functioning. The social worker is also the professional responsible for coordinating community resources on behalf of students and their families.
Resource Room Support and Replacement
Classified students in need of extra assistance may spend part or half of each day in a resource center group with a certified special education teacher. The remainder of their day is spent in the mainstreamed classes. Some students have a full day resource center program.
In-Class Support Resources
A general education teacher, a special education teacher, and at times, a special education paraprofessional instruct a general education classroom. An in-class support program of instruction is one in which general and special educators are collaboratively involved in planning and implementing special strategies, techniques, methods, and materials in conjunction with content to address learning problems of pupils with educational disabilities engaged in the general education classroom.
The teachers “co-teach” using a variety of instruction models that include one teacher instructing and the other moving around the classroom checking for understanding, both teachers instructing at the same time, or another model of support. This classroom contains both general education and special education students and follows the core curriculum content standards.
General Education
Students eligible for special education may be able to learn effectively in a general education class with individualized modifications and accommodations. Special equipment (e.g., an FM system, sign language interpreter, or tape recorder, etc.) may be available, which allows children to perform to the best of their ability in a general education classroom. This may require the consultation of a special education professional.
Self-Contained Classes
These are special education classes for children whose disability makes it difficult for them to perform successfully in most or all general academic classes. Classroom aides often assist teachers of self-contained classes. Children assigned to these classes stay there for most academic subjects. The age span of children in a special education class cannot exceed four years. In some cases, children in special classes can be included in general education classes for particular subjects.
The emphasis of the curriculum is to accommodate children’s learning styles, cognitive, social, sensory motor, and academic abilities. The program is centered on the belief that learning occurs within the academic context. The end objective is for the child to integrate concepts and become independent and verbally express their knowledge.
Autism Program
Our program is based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, and we deliver high quality, evidence-based educational services to children with autism and related developmental disorders. The program focuses on teaching academic skills, language skills, play and social skills, leisure skills, life skills, and vocational skills to students from preschool through high school. Our teachers and instructors work closely with the district’s board certified behavior analysts to deliver quality instruction to our students.
Preschool Disabilities Program
School districts in New Jersey are obligated to provide educational programs to children from ages three to five who demonstrate developmental delays. A child study team evaluates these children, and if special education is warranted, the team recommends the child for a classification of Preschool Child with a Disability. Paramus has full-day and half-day options for our preschoolers. We have both specialized programs and fully inclusive preschool programs.
The Early Childhood Center is a preschool inclusion program that has been developed to identify and provide comprehensive and educational experiences for both special and general education preschoolers. The goals of the program are to:
- Provide a natural environment for young children of varying developmental levels to work to the fullest extent in the least restrictive environment
- Support families as they develop resources for managing the daily stressors involved in raising a preschooler
- Enhance the academic curriculum to accommodate the children’s learning styles and cognitive academic abilities
The “Creative Curriculum” is centered on the belief that learning occurs within the natural environment with the objective to help the child integrate concepts to become a problem solver and an independent learner.
LEAP
LEAP (Life Skills, Education, and Achievement Program) targets middle and high school students who would benefit from a greater focus on developing functional and daily life skills prior to their graduation. The goal is to provide young adults with various abilities at the middle school and high school levels with ample opportunities to further develop and explore their strengths, interests, preferences, social relationships, and future career goals through community-based instruction and volunteer and mentorship work experience in the community.
The program offers a comprehensive curriculum aligned with the standards, integration with non-disabled peers, innovative assistive technology, and community-based experiences, transition planning, and comprehensive related services.
Career Builders
This program is for young adults with various abilities ages 16 to 21 who participate in our Small Business Concept and Structured Learning Experiences, fostering vocational and career skills and allowing students to meet their full potential as future employees and contributing members of our society. The Small Business Concepts are curriculum-based units that cross academic content areas to help students develop, practice, and master daily living, functional, and workplace readiness skills.
Home Instruction
A certified teacher may temporarily provide instruction at a student's home while the student is recuperating from an illness or while the school is arranging a special education placement.
Related Services
A student may need related services to reinforce or make beneficial their educational program. A specialist outside the classroom typically provides related services, either individually or in small groups. The specialist may also consult with your child's teacher to coordinate the services with classroom lessons. The following are examples of related services:
- Speech: This program is for all children who demonstrate a need for extra instruction in this area. A certified speech specialist delivers these services. Parent involvement and cooperation are important components of the program.
- Occupational Therapy: The Occupational Therapy Program utilizes goal-directed, developmentally sequenced activities to enhance the student's’ ability to benefit from educational programming. Students who receive this service must be classified by the Child Study Team and have this program outlined in their Individualized Educational Plan.
- Physical Therapy: Physical Therapy service within the educational environment is for those disabled students who require it in order to benefit from education or to be maintained in the least restrictive, most supportive environment. We direct these services toward the development and/or maintenance of the disabled pupil’s physical potential for optimal functioning in all educational activities.
- Counseling Services: The district’s psychologist and social workers provide services to grades K–12. They are available on a crisis or ongoing short-term basis for students and/or parents. Additionally, Child Study Team members provide short-term individual and group counseling, teacher in-service, and parent workshops.
CASS
The Counseling and Academic Support Services (CASS) program, located at Paramus High School, educates students in grades nine through 12 who are academically capable but require therapeutic support managing a mainstream setting. CASS is a setting for students who are able to participate in school-based counseling and need therapeutic support to manage academic and emotional demands. A Sage Thrive Clinician provides in school-level counseling, where students continue to work on understanding their emotions and behaviors, substituting appropriate behaviors while finding and strengthening alternative coping mechanisms. The CASS classroom is available as a “safe space” for students to access therapeutic supports, participate in academic seminar classes, and check-in when they need a break during the day. The staff works with parents/guardians to ensure students are successful academically and socially.
Sage Thrive Program at Paramus High School
The Sage Program at Paramus High School provides supportive counseling services to students primarily identified in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). However, Sage In-District Services have the capacity to serve special education, as well as general education students through their 504 Plan. The goal of the Sage Program is to fill the gap in service between the existing in-school support and an out-of-district placement by providing identified students with counseling to address emotional difficulties that are affecting their academic and social functioning. The program provides individual and group counseling sessions to students during regular school hours and family counseling is available after school hours. The Sage Program works with a variety of identified students who have issues such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, social anxiety, and Asperger's Syndrome in addition to other typical pre-adolescent and adolescent issues. The program bases eligibility on the child study team, school counselors, and the Sage Program counselor. Please feel free to reach out to Ms. Krista Seabrook. She is the Sage Program counselor at Paramus High School.
Sage Day has been providing Sage In-District Services for the past ten years and currently are available in New Jersey.
For additional information concerning these services, please visit our Sage Day website.
CarePlus Partnership
Through our partnership with CarePlus, East Brook and West Brook Middle Schools have access to full-time mental health clinicians providing crisis support, counseling, and therapeutic services for students and their families. Skill-building workshops for students (i.e. anger management, stress management, communication skills, substance awareness, suicide awareness) are available regularly. Professional development for teachers and parent engagement workshops is also provided through CarePlus. Our active partnership also allows for linkages to community mental health supports through the network of services and access to the CarePlus system partners for both students and families.
East Brook Clinicians:
Diane Wirth, LCSW
Lara Libre, LSW
West Brook Clinician:
Jacqueline Emerson, LSW
District-Wide Staff Clincian:
Staci Chmielewski, LCSW
