Both Lakeland High School and Walter Panas High School provide consultant teacher, resource room, co-teach, and special class programs, as well as all required related services (counseling, speech/language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision and hearing services) recommended by a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP). Special class reading services are also provided as recommended by the IEP.  Please see the special education continuum page for further information.

The Special Class Plus program, housed at Lakeland High School (9th and 11th grade) and Walter Panas High School (10th grade), is designed to provide students with disabilities with a modified special class program geared for learners with instructional needs that are considered to be highly intensive. Students who are served by the Special Class Plus program are found to not be eligible for the New York State Alternate Assessment (exempt from participation in the New York State assessment program), and have been recommended to receive more supports than are afforded by a traditional special class program. Accordingly, the Special Class Plus program is:

•  A special class ratio of a maximum of 15 students to 1 teacher (15:1)
• Designed to address the needs of students who may qualify for a Regents or Local Diploma
• A 4-5 year course of study which allows for the supplementation of special class instruction with additional class periods of support in one or more core academic subjects, allowing students more time with a more diverse cohort while also receiving the additional support they individually require.
• Designed to allow students to complete the requirements for a Regents or local diploma in 4 years -or- complete a two year Career and Technical Education (CTE) sequence and the requirements for a Regents or local diploma in 5 years.

The OASIS program at Walter Panas High School is a specially designed 12:1:2 therapeutic support program in which recommended special education students are educated in a separate special education environment.  Each classroom contains no more than 12 students, a teacher, and two classroom aides.  Students in the OASIS program are students who require a greater level of social/emotional support, and as such, the program also employs a full-time school psychologist to meet ongoing counseling needs.  As the needs of the students in this program are largely social/emotional, the academic expectations and curriculum are commensurate with each grade level.  Students in the OASIS program are expected to participate in the same state and local assessments as their grade level peers with the appropriately recommended testing accommodations.  The Oasis program is run collaboratively with Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES.

The Life Skills/Aspire program at Lakeland High School is specially designed to meet the needs of students with severe cognitive disabilities, significant deficits in communication/language, and significant deficits in adaptive behavior.  Life Skills/Aspire students require a highly specialized educational program through the age of 21 that facilitates the acquisition, application, and transfer of skills across natural environments (home, school, community, and/or workplace).  As such, students are educated in a separate educational environment; each classroom contains no more than 12 students, a teacher, and two classroom aides.  The Life Skills/Aspire curriculum is specially designed and commensurate with alternate achievement standards for English/language arts, math, and science.  Additionally, the curriculum addresses community based and adaptive skill sets.  As students approach the graduation age of 21, students participate in the STRIVE program, which provides real-world and community-based work experience with the support of teachers, aides, and related service providers.  For those students requiring more intensive 1:1 instruction, Applied Behavior Analysis is used.