Preschool Special Education Services

Rising Ground Preschools Reopening School Plan
As we work to ensure continued education and support for the children in our Ames Early Childhood Learning Center (Yonkers), Brownell School (Bronx), and Children’s Learning Center (Manhattan) through Covid, please see the full reopening plan online here or download the following documents for the 2020-2021 school year: our full reopening plan and addendum, our remote learning plan, internal contact tracing protocol, and a testing notification, as well as our 2021-2022 Full Reopening Plan in English and Spanish and our Code of Conduct in English and Spanish.

Encouraging Progress

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and thrive. Our Preschool Special Education programs make sure children with special needs and developmental delays get that opportunity, too.

We create a warm, trusting environment where children feel comfortable to explore the world around them and develop social and emotional skills so they can thrive and grow. Children in our Preschool Special Education programs have varied challenges, including speech impairments, learning disabilities, neurological impairments, developmental disabilities, emotional/behavioral challenges and autism.

Setting and Achieving Goals

No matter what the challenge, we help children progress toward their personal goals, such as learning to make eye contact, controlling aggressive behaviors and communicating through sign language. We meet each child’s specific developmental and learning objectives through play, individual instruction time, and classroom activities. Trained teachers tailor classroom activities to each child’s unique learning style, personality, strengths and challenges.  

Whether in integrated classes alongside their typically developing peers or in small, specialized classes, students also receive individual or group occupational, physical, and speech therapy and the counseling needed to support their development.

For those with more significant needs, specialized preschool classes – with six, eight or ten children and a teacher and two teaching assistants – provide the intensive services children need.  

40% of our special-education preschoolers in integrated settings move onto Kindergarten needing less intensive or no special education services.

Supporting Parents

Because supporting a child with special needs brings unique challenges, we help parents learn too. Through conversations with teachers about daily activities and approaches to meet their children’s particular needs, we give parents the tools they need to continue supports at home so every child can achieve his or her potential. Parent support groups offer a safe space in which parents can discuss the challenges they face with other parents and share solutions.

Program Features

• New York State Certified Teachers
• Teacher assistants in every classroom
• Small, specialized classes for children with more significant needs
• Spacious, well equipped, modern facility
• Indoor and outdoor play areas
• Nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks

Family and Parent Support

• Support and training for parents and families in how to support children with special needs.
• All services available to children and families in English and Spanish.
• Bilingual classrooms.
• Serving children from New York City and Westchester County.

Therapeutic and Clinical Supportive Services

• Speech therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Individual and group counseling

Multiple Locations

Rising Ground offers special education services at locations in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Yonkers. Our Children’s Learning Center in Manhattan specifically supports young children exhibiting early signs of autism. To learn more, contact our Preschools:

Marion & George Ames Early Childhood Learning Center
463 Hawthorne Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10705
914-375-8820

Dr. Katharine Dodge Brownell School
450 Castle Hill Avenue Bronx, NY 10473
718-430-7938

Children’s Learning Center
1751 Park Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10035
347-758-9128