Abilities First developing new Pre-K program

New York State Educational Department has approved Abilities First's proposal for an integrated preschool program in Hyde Park. 

This program will allow preschool students with developmental disabilities to learn in the same classroom as their peers who are not developmentally delayed. 

This is the first program of its kind, Abilities CEO Dr. Jeff Fox said. For the past few years, there has been money in the education budget for this kind of program, but it has not taken off the ground until now.

“For quite a while, there have been preschool models that included kids with and without disabilities,” Fox said. “Because of certain policies and guidelines, half of the students would be those with developmental delays and disabilities.” His organization received approval for this program approximately two weeks ago.

Abilities First chose Hyde Park for the location of their program because of its existing universal preschool program. Fox said that because there is already a general education program existing there, it “gave us a place to bring kids who are classified with disabilities into the regular education program.” It is the only full day universal preschool program in Dutchess County. However, Fox sees room for growth.

“It’s an antiquated model,” he said. “The ratio of kids with developmental delays and disabilities in an innovative program should be 25 percent or less. You can imagine that what we wanted to do was create a program that could approximate what you would find in a national setting.”

Abilities First worked in collaboration with Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, D-Hudson. Fox credited her with contributing to their success. “It’s pretty difficult to make things happen when there are policies and regulations are against you,” he said. “Barrett thought this was critical for us. The state Education Department was great as well in working with us.”

Fox emphasized the significance of this new program. “It means that if you are a parent of a 3 or 4-year-old who is classified with a disability, your options would be a centered program that is separate and only for those with developmental disabilities,” he said. “Now, this new program offers an opportunity for those same kids to get preschool in a setting with kids who are typically developing.” Based on this new model, classes will have 18 students, with about four or five those being students with developmental disabilities.

The new program is in the process of hiring teachers and rearranging spaces for the new classes. Fox anticipates that the program will be up and running on some level by the end of 2016 and be fully running for the 2017-2018 school year.