Home - Welcome to New Rochelle Public Schools

Forty New Rochelle High School students were treated to healthy dishes including beet bruschetta with hummus and sweet potato and parsnip soup served by their schoolmates recently.

The student cooks in the Science of Food class whipped up dishes from their own recipes with farm-to-table, sustainable ingredients as the culmination of a semester-long "Food Ed" program with the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

They studied personal and cultural connections to food as well as topics of sustainability. The lessons focused on many facets of agriculture, even caring for the soil itself.

"They studied how to maintain healthy soil, how to restore depleted soil and how the foods that you choose to grow have an impact on that living skin of the earth," teacher Julia Chillemi Kouyoumdjian said.

For the lunch event, Chillemi Kouyoumdjian's 30 students prepared, cooked and served the meal to two other classes in Room 207. The focus was "mindful eating," which "increases your awareness of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food selection and preparation," their menu explains. It continues, "Eating mindfully is a practice that uses all your senses in choosing to eat food that is both satisfying to you and nourishing to your body."

They chose ingredients from the Stone Barns farm; others were sustainably sourced. In addition to the bruschetta and the sweet potato soup, there was kale risotto, "classic farm soup" and a seasonal salad. With each course came a story about how people can share their cultures by sharing foods, how food can be a form of medicine and how healthy soil leads to more nutritious ingredients.

Students who took the class said they planned to eat healthier and to spread the word about the connection between how we grow food and the world around us.

"I commit to eating healthy foods and staying away from bad foods that may be detrimental to my health," Gillian Okaiteye wrote in an action plan questionnaire.

Several said they would start their own gardens or join a community garden. Nick Calderone said he would like to help his mother cook and perhaps even make the family dinner on his own. Colin Logan, like many others, said he would let others know what he had learned.

"I will spread awareness about issues with the food system, such as unfair distribution and non-ethical production practices," Logan said.

Special and Alternative Education

Mission: The mission of the Department of Special Education is to improve the quality of life of students with disabilities and their families by developing and disseminating essential skills, and competencies through teaching, collaboration and service. To the greatest extent possible

Through the coordinated efforts of members of the school community, faculty and staff will embrace individualized practices to ensure that inclusion, instruction and integrative activities aimed at achieving post-secondary goals.

Resources

CSE Referral Process w-Timeline

Glossary of Special Education Terms

Parent Guide (English)

Guía Para Padres (español)

Parent's Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security

District Plan for Special Education

Procedural Safeguard

Aviso Relativo a Garantias de Procedimiento - Español

Procedural Safeguard (Chinese)

Procedural Safeguard (Haitian)

Procedural Safeguard (Russian)

SEPTA

Aviso Relativo a Garantias de Procedimiento - Español

Contact Information

Dara Joseph - Director of Special and Alternative Education
djoseph@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-4267

Jane Torres - Principal Clerk
JTorres@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-4267

Bryan Harris - Clerk

Beharris@newrochelle.k12.ny.us

(914) 576-4267

Melissa Szymanowski - Central CSE Chairperson

MSzymanowski@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-4224

Cathryn Nicholas - CSE Clerk
CNicholas@nredlearn.org
(914) 576-4682

Deborah Fox - Central CSE Chairperson

DFox@nredlearn.org
(914)576-4224 or

Amelia Hunter - CSE Clerk
AHunter@nredlearn.org
(914)576-4262

Laurette Shrage - Assistant Director of Special Education

Lshrage@newrochelle.k12.ny.us
(914) 576-4690

Frayda Grossbach - Elementary District Wide Facilitator
FGrossbach@nredlearn.org
(914)819-2326

Lisa Wilson - Elementary CSE Clerk

LWilson@nredlearn.org
(914) 576-4690

Jeffrey Cole - Assistant Director of Special Education

Jcole@nredlearn.org
(914) 576-4278

Elizabeth Sanchez - Albert Leonard Middle School CSE Chairperson

esanchez@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-8080

Danielle Brudner - Isaac E. Young Middle School CSE Chairperson

DBrudner@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-1192

Felicia Schinella - Assistant Director of Special Education

FSchinella@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-8222 or (914)576-8292

Laura Rutto - Office Manager
Lrutto@nredlearn.org
(914) 576-8222 or (914)576-8292

Deanna DeLuca - New Rochelle High School CSE Chairperson

DBasile@nredlearn.org
914-576-4546

Kristin Dragone - New Rochelle High School CSE Chairperson

KDragone@nredlearn.org
914-576-5427

Aline Walters - Assistive Technology

AWalters@nredlearn.org

(914) 576-8188

Regina Martorello - Board Certified Behavior Analyst
RMartorello@nredlearn.org

Dr. Marie Lemy - Psychologist/Coordinator of Out of District Students
MLemy@nredlearn.org
914-576-4256

About Us

The Committee on Special Education (CSE) serves children between the ages 5-21 who are eligible for special education age services. Referrals to the Committee on Special Education may be made by district staff or parents. If you suspect that your child may have a disability that requires specialized instruction, you are encouraged to refer your child, in writing to the Committee on Special Education.

The special education department provides a range of supports and services for students who have been identified as having a disability according to federal and state guidelines. Students with disabilities are provided individualized special education programs which can include: related services, assistive technology, and accommodations/modifications in the general education classroom and/or the special education setting. All programs are developed using a team that includes general and special education staff, families and the student.

For children between the ages of 3 and 5, special education services are recommended by the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE).

Welcome to New Rochelle Public Schools

District News and Announcements

Wall of Fame Nominations Being Accepted

NRHS TheatreWorks Invites You to 'See Rock City'

Forensic Students Learn from Wrongfully Convicted Man

Forrest, Manns Sign with Holy Cross, UMaine

NRHS AP Government Class Visits Washington

Food Ed Students Serve Schoolmates 'Mindful' Lunch

Jake Logan Wins Con Edison Athlete of Week

Meteorologist Teaches Students Science of Weather

Alumni Join Choral Students in NRHS WinterFest Tradition

Trinity Love Committee Knows Everything You Do Matters

Special and Alternative Education

Resources

SEPTA

Contact Information

About Us