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Special Education
THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
To: 
Executive Directors of Section 4410 Preschools
Chancellor, New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE)
NYCDOE Deputy Chancellor of the Division of Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners
Commissioner’s Advisory Panel for Special Education Services
Impartial Hearing Officers
Community Dispute Resolution Centers
Regional Bilingual Education Resource Networks
Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Centers
New York City Special Education Parent Centers
From: 
James P. DeLorenzo
Subject: 
New York City Preschool Bilingual/English as a Second Language Technical Assistance Center
Date: 
June 1, 2011

The P-12: Office of Special Education of the New York State Education Department (NYSED) is pleased to announce a five-year contract for a New York City Preschool Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Technical Assistance Center. The purpose of the Bilingual/ESL Preschool TAC is to increase the capacity of section 4410 preschools located in New York City to serve preschool students with disabilities with limited English proficiency by providing services in the following two areas:

I. Training

The Bilingual/ESL Preschool TAC will train paraprofessionals (teaching assistants and teacher aides), teachers, administrators, related service personnel and other members of multidisciplinary evaluation teams (speech therapists, school psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and social workers), and interpreter/translators employed by approved preschool programs on topics including but not limited to:

  1. bilingual and ESL methodology,
  2. cultural and linguistic diversity,
  3. effective professional/paraprofessional teams,
  4. working as or with an interpreter/translator, and 
  5. integration of bilingual programming throughout a school.

 

II.Referrals to Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Special Education

The Bilingual/ESL Preschool TAC will also ensure that the paraprofessionals and professionals who participate in the above training:

  1. receive information on tuition assistance provided by the Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Special Education (ITI-BSE),
  2. be recommended by their preschool program employer for participation in the ITI-BSE, and
  3. receive information on registered ITI programs leading to a bilingual extension or certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) or Teaching Students with Disabilities from Birth to Grade 2 (TSWD).

Section 4410 preschools in NYC in need of training or other services from the Bilingual/ESL Preschool TAC should contact:
Christopher Church, Director of Education
Adelphi University, Manhattan Center
75 Varick Street, 2nd Floor
New York, New York 10013
212-965-8340 ext. 8351
www.adelphi.eduxternal link

Questions relating to this memorandum may be directed to SPECED@nysed.gov or by calling Alexia Thompson, P-12: Office of Special Education, at 585-344-2002.

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