Special Ed/Gen Ed Class Experiences?

My son is assigned to a kindergarten class that is some sort of special ed/gen ed integrated class (he is not special ed). The school has this class with 2 teachers, one of whom is a special ed teacher, and 3 typical classes with 1 teacher each. I am guessing there must be both pros and cons to this arrangement, but I am wondering if anyone has experienced a similar class as either a teacher or parent, and might have some insights on how it might be run or things to be aware of?


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Over the years my three gen ed kids have had a group of special ed students plus teacher in their classrooms for various parts of the day. Having two teachers benefits everyone! Great experience in numerous formats.


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We were thinking it would be good to have two teachers, because one teacher for 24 kindergarteners seems like it would be a stretch! This is also the only K class that has a bathroom in the classroom, which is great since the boys room is pretty far down the hall/winding ramp.


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My kids were in a gen ed class but there was a special Ed class that had “push ins” in their class for K-2. The special ed kids all had an aide so there was a lot of extra help when they were in the class. The special ed kids usually joined for one block of the day and any class parties, special events or field trips. We had good experiences with this arrangement.

dd2 was also in an integrated kindy - it was great. 1 FT Teacher and 1 FT para and 1 .5 special Ed teacher. The team had been together for years and it was all seamless and I did not realize it was an integrated K until after I started working in the school. As long as it is well staffed the experience should be a great one for your child.

This is the big push now to have integrated classes and to have a co teaching model. It has pros and cons. It can work great if the district has invested enough time in training the teachers involved. My biggest concern would be is there enough support staff for the students that have special needs that they can be taken out of the class should they become too overwhelmed. A kindergarten class can be noisy and chaotic at times. Teaching 24 kinder students with one teacher is standard for my district (we can have 27), so that part doesn’t phase me. Overall, I would be fine with this arrangement. I think it is very beneficial to both sets of students provided the teachers work well together and have been trained in this model.

Ds2 did two years of integrated preschool. Class was about 2/3 typical, 1/3 special needs. Two teachers (one typical, one special needs) plus tons of aides. Severe kids had their own aides plus less severe kids shared with one other kid. Ds2 loved it.

I think the model works better for younger kids, but I think it would be difficult with older elementary

I am a special education teacher who is part of an inclusion classroom team. The students in the class all receive additional attention as a result of there being 2 teachers. In an ideal situation, thebstudents don’t have any idea why or who I’m in there to help. They just know they have 2 teachers and that’s it.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! I also talked to the director at our daycare who knows one of the teachers and says she is great, so crossing fingers it will be a great year for him :)

We went to his orientation today and met his teachers. In addition to the general and special education teachers there is also a full time teaching assistant who goes with them to lunch and their specials. But if the ~10 kids from his pre k who are starting kindergarten at this school this year, not a single one is in his class. He didn’t say much about it, but I am so bummed for him!


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Originally Posted by gymnbomb

We went to his orientation today and met his teachers. In addition to the general and special education teachers there is also a full time teaching assistant who goes with them to lunch and their specials. But if the ~10 kids from his pre k who are starting kindergarten at this school this year, not a single one is in his class. He didn’t say much about it, but I am so bummed for him!


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I can see how that would be a little disappointing but kids make friends soooo quickly at that age! It sounds like a pretty good situation!

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Originally Posted by bisous

I can see how that would be a little disappointing but kids make friends soooo quickly at that age! It sounds like a pretty good situation!

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Thanks, I am hoping so! I know it will probably all be fine, I am just feeling a little protective mama bear this week and wanting things to be as easy as possible for him. More than anything I just want him to be happy and to like (or at least not hate) school.


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DD went into K not knowing a soul and did great! And she didn't really have friends in preschool. In fact, we were glad she got in trouble for talking. (she is totally different now--talks and talks and talks but still only a few friends) DS knew 1-2 kids but he made friend easily with others. It will be fine!

Speaking as a Kinder teacher, kids make friends so quickly at this age. I wouldn’t worry about his pre k friends not being in his class.