Home

IMPORTANT NOTICE

WELCOME TO OUR HOME PAGE

Program Philosophy and Mission

Starting Point is a group of educators, therapists, social workers, psychologists, administrators/supervisors and support staff dedicated to providing quality programming to preschool children with disabilities and their families. All staff members are certified and/or licensed as required by law and are cleared through the New York State Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment, The New York City Department of Investigation and The New York City Department of Education. Where applicable, Starting Point is licensed by the New York City Department of Health/Division of Day Care and approved by the New York State Education Department to provide special education services to children three (3) to five (5) years of age.

Starting Point provides educational and therapeutic programs for young preschool students with developmental delays. We offer an environment that is caring, nurturing and designed to bring each student to his/her fullest potential. Our programs and interventions are based on current best practices and the philosophy that each child is unique and that all children can learn. This philosophy incorporates the following precepts:

	Interventions designed for young students must be developmentally appropriate and individually appropriate. In addition, all providers of programming to each student must ensure an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to that student;
	Parents and caregivers are primary agents of learning and change for their children and, therefore, must be integral members of the educational and therapeutic team;
	Children are members of their families and cultural and religious communities. All interventions and methods must respect cultural and religious diversity and the family’s values;
	Starting Point seeks to ensure each child’s federally-guaranteed right to an education in the least restrictive environment. All interventions, therefore, strive to normalize the experiences of the young student and incorporate typically-developing peers where possible.

In addition, all services provided by Starting Point will seek to conform to all relevant legislation and regulation.

Starting Point will assume primary case management responsibility for its Special Education Itinerant Teacher (“SEIT”) and Special Class in an Integrated Setting (SC/IS) students with regard to the education of its students. This responsibility ensures students and families that Starting Point and its employees will help families in all activities pertaining to the access of special educational services within the local system of special education. Starting Point will serve as a referral source to other community resources that may be needed by families to ensure that their children can continue to access and benefit from the special educational services offered by Starting Point.

In order to view the articles and documents on this website, you must have Adobe Reader® installed on your computer. If you do not have this program installed you may install it, free of charge from the Adobe® website. Click on the link below and follow instructions to download Adobe Reader®.
www.adobe.com
When you have installed Adobe Reader® return to our site.

Important Things To Know:
Our Program is for preschool children who have or are suspected of having a disability pursuant to section 4410 of Article 89 of the Education Law.
Any services provided are based upon the individual needs of the preschool child found to have a disability, as determined by the Committee on Preschool Special Education of the local school district.
The local school district will determine the location where needed special education services will be provided, which may be the child's normal daytime setting.
Parents are responsible for arranging and paying for the costs of any childcare.
Special education services are at no direct cost to the parent; funding is provided through county taxes and state funds