A full range of high school courses is offered at Summit, and credits earned at Summit are accepted by the student's home high school. Graduating students receive a diploma from their home school. Students who are residents of New York State may become eligible for either a IEP, Local, or Regents Diploma as a result of their work at Summit.
The school program is highly specialized. Because of the wide range of capabilities of our students, courses are taught at many different levels, from remedial through college-level advanced placement. However, in keeping with the Special Education focus of the school program, all courses have the following elements in common:
- Each student's academic and related services program is individually determined by his or her Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP is a document put together by the parents and the referring school district's Committee on Special Education, often with input from the Summit School staff.
- Each student's progress is individually tracked with reference to his or her IEP. Students are scheduled for courses equivalent to those in their home high school.
- Classes are small. In Grades 9-12, the classroom ratio in each homeroom class is no more than twelve students to one teacher and one teaching assistant. In actual subject classes, the ratio is usually about eight to ten students to one teacher and one teaching assistant.
- All Summit School teachers are State-certified as Special Education teachers. In Grades 9-12, all teachers are also certified in their particular subject areas.
Students are enrolled in a full school day, from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m, Monday through Friday. The school program operates throughout the year, and students can make use of the summer months by completing a course in study skills, preparing for the P.S.A.T or S.A.T., moving ahead in course work, or by making up deficiencies from the regular school year. Those in their senior year are strongly encouraged to take a course at Rockland Community College, which is located nearby and where students may continue their Summit course work at the college level, or explore an area of special interest. Additionally,students may pursue advanced instruction in art and music through privately arranged studies in the local community.
All students at Summit have access to computers. Each classroom has its own iMac computer, along with numerous academic software programs. In addition, all students have scheduled periods in our computer lab, where they can elect to take a full year course in word processing. All computers at Summit are connected to our own internal network, with T-1 Internet access.
You may also view our course descriptions.