College to Offer New Special Education Assistant Certificate Program Starting this Fall

June 6, 2016

Hudson Valley Community College will offer a certificate program starting this fall for those who are interested in becoming special education assistants in a school setting. 

This new program, which consists of eight classes, will allow students to focus their studies on special education and will prepare them to earn the New York State Teaching Assistant Certification, Level III.

Students earning this certificate would be prepared for a position as a teaching assistant in a public school, K-12, as a paraprofessional working in a self-contained special education classroom, as an assistant in a special education center or as a direct support assistant working in a group home or facility for persons with disabilities.

"Many students in our Teaching Assistant certificate program have expressed interest in working with students with special needs. This new curriculum allows those students to focus their studies on coursework that will prepare them to work directly with the developmentally disabled," said Teacher Preparation Department Chairperson Dr. Dawn Kolakoski.

The college's Teacher Preparation Department also oversees certificate programs in Teaching Assistant and Early Childhood Administration, as well as associate degree programs in Early Childhood, Early Childhood Administration and Liberal Arts and Science: Adolescent Education.

For more information or to enroll in the program, contact the college's Admissions Office at (518) 629-7309.