RethinkEd Partners with New York City Public Schools to Support the Quest to Become Center of Excellence for Students with Autism

NEW YORK, March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RethinkEd, a pioneering EdTech platform powering the potential of educators and students from RethinkFirst, today announced an expanded partnership with the country's largest public school system, New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), in delivering innovative, evidence-based, specialized supports that will help students with autism thrive.

This partnership was launched during the 2021-22 school year with the development of educational learning communities for over 900 educators, focusing on the implementation of evidence-based classroom supports. In school year 2022-23, these efforts will be scaled across public schools with building-level specialists supporting schools in providing access to instruction for students with autism.

"By joining forces with RethinkEd, we're not only creating school communities that meet the needs of all of our students, we're also now one step closer to achieving our dream of making New York City a Center of Excellence for Autism," said Christina Foti, Chief of Special Education, NYCPS. "RethinkEd not only shares our mission, they're also a driving force in empowering us to provide comprehensive supports for students with autism."

Best Practice Support for Students with Autism

Throughout the professional development series, RethinkEd Behavior Specialist trainers guided educators through a series of key topics on best practice support for students with autism. The trainers also provided ongoing coaching as educators put these key concepts into practice in the classroom. They also received access to on-demand training modules and instructional materials, designed to further develop highly qualified building level specialists supporting students with autism.

Now in the second year of the partnership, the focus is to scale supports and build expertise across NYC Public Schools. The goal is to develop building level specialists who will be able to successfully support schools in providing access to instruction for students with a classification of Autism Spectrum Disorders who could benefit from intensive behavior support. 

"The New York City public school system has long advocated for students with autism," explains RethinkEd's Executive Vice President Diana Frezza. "Now it's time to further that work. We couldn't be more excited to partner with the New York City Department of Education in providing a full range of tools, including on-demand and evidence-based professional development videos, lesson plans, and much more that they can use to successfully support students with autism."

NYCPS's Specialized Programs

The RethinkEd training team also continues to support both the AIMS and ASD Horizon programs, which are specialized programs developed by NYC Public Schools for students with autism.

AIMS (Acquisition, Integrated Services, Meaningful Communication, and Social Skills) is a specialized education program that provides both individual and small group instruction using the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Verbal Behavior (VB) techniques.

"The AIMS Program is designed to create a strong partnership between families and the classroom team," explains Foti. "Our focus is on less children with more intensive supports. Thanks to RethinkEd and our Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), educators will receive ongoing professional development to support instruction, communication, and behavioral strategies. This is key because our BCBAs are very hands-on with these students, supporting learners particularly in the area of building emerging communication skills."

The ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Horizon Program offers community schools a specialized class featuring a developed model of support and services for students with autism. It is an academic program that uses the same grade curricula used in the general classroom with an emphasis on strengthening academic and social skills.

Support for Horizon Program educators includes NYCPS ASD Horizon instructional coaches, as well as online resources from RethinkEd, including a comprehensive platform of evidence-based instructional materials rooted in the principals of ABA, as well as a virtual data collection suite to support ongoing progress monitoring of student achievement."

"This enhanced partnership will be transformational in terms of enhancing the impact of New York Public School's specialized programs," says Foti. "We envision a greater ability for our school system to address specialized needs without marginalizing any student population group and hope that we set an example of excellence that will serve to inspire other school systems across the country to do the same."

About RethinkEd

RethinkEd was founded on a simple, yet powerful idea: To re-think education. To make it better and easier. To unburden school districts and empower educators. To improve outcomes and elevate accountability. To promote collaboration and inspire learning. And most importantly, to make a difference in the school day for everyone – administrators, educators, and students. As a division of RethinkFirst, an award-winning technology developer of cloud-based tools, training, and supports, RethinkEd is pioneering EdTech. We're relentless in pursuing innovative ways to put evidence-based, data-informed, digitally delivered instruction and assessments into the hands of educators, clinicians, and parents who share our single-minded focus: To help all children succeed.

About New York City Public Schools

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. These schools form the largest school system in the United States, where over 1 million students are taught in more than 1,600 separate schools across the five boroughs. The DOE is committed to creating and supporting learning environments that reflect the diversity of New York City. We believe that all students benefit from diverse and inclusive schools and classrooms, and we strive to welcome and support all students, families, and school staff.

For more information please visit our RethinkEd website or for media inquiries email [email protected].

Media contact for RethinkFirst
Erin Bocherer
678-294-2258
[email protected]

SOURCE RethinkEd