OUR SCHOOL
Our Vision & Commitment
Welcome to P.S. 596X! We are a New York City Public School serving students on the autism spectrum and other special needs from Pre-K through age 11.
Through this website, you will be able to step into our classrooms and hallways to get an idea of the wide variety of creative programs and practices in which students participate on a daily basis.
Our commitment is to provide the highest quality, state of the art instructional programs to our students, and to offer parents workshops and activities to equip themselves with the skills to best help their child. Through hands-on learning and fun-filled opportunities, our students make tremendous gains in social skills, language, and academics.
From reading, writing, math, science, social studies to social skills, technology skills, vocational skills to art, music and dance, students have a rich educational experience at school.
Enrichment programs such as a partnership with the Disney Organization, school chorus, salsa band, soccer club, Olympics, assembly performances, to name a few, all enhance our multitude of academic programs. Step into P.S. 596X, you’ll love what you see!
Our Mission
P.S. 596X is a highly collaborative and positive school community, where all stakeholders come together to celebrate students for their many strengths. We are committed to providing an interactive, hands on curriculum, that uses state of the art instructional programs and methodologies that meet the individual needs of our diverse learners.
Our fundamental belief is that children are children first and that they are children with special needs second; therefore deserving the same rigor and quality of instruction, professionalism and creativity in their programming, as any other student in NYC does. Through our partnership with families, community agencies and an appreciation for the arts, our students flourish in a safe, nurturing and fun environment.
Our Goals
The goal of the educational program at P.S. 596X is to equip students with as many skills as possible to enable them to be independent, productive, contributing members of their families, their communities and society at large. Towards that end, we offer students a variety of programs and options designed to meet each student’s individual needs.
At P.S. 596X, we believe that all of our students have the potential to learn, grow, and achieve, in a nurturing, supportive environment, tailored to meet their individual needs. We know that as a team, with parents as our partners, and with continuous communication, our students can be successful.
We place strong emphasis on parent advocacy. We have an active PTA (Parent Teacher Association) and Parent Support Group that conducts monthly workshops for parents on a variety of topics utilizing both our experienced P.S. 596X staff and outside consultants.
Our SLT (School Leadership Team) meets regularly to develop and implement the school plan. Committee members are made up of 50% parents.
P.S. 596X is a school that services students on the autism spectrum disorder in 6:1:1, 8:1:1, 12:1:1 ratios and inclusion. Autism is characterized by deficits in communicative, behavioral, social and sometimes cognitive functioning. Our instructional programs place major emphasis on these areas.
We are located in three community schools: P.S. 178,
P.S. 153, and P.S. 498. P.S. 596X students are assigned to schools based on their chronological age with older students attending our sister school for autism, P.S. 176X or a similar program.
School Comprehensive Educational Plan Goals
2024 - 2025
Priority Area 1: All Students will learn to read well
By June 2025, literacy for 6:1:1 Students with Disabilities (SWD) will improve, as measured by a 2% Increase, from 3% to 5%, in component G - Labeling, on the ABLLS Assessment.
By June 2025, literacy for Students with Disabilities (SWD) in the 8:1:1 and 12:1:1 classrooms will improve by an increase of 5% from 51% to 55%, in identifying, producing, or verbalizing phonemes as
measured by the SANDI assessment.
Priority Area 2: All students are physically and emotionally safe
By June 2025, the physical and mental wellness for 596X Students with Disabilities (SWD) will improve, as measured by a 30%
decrease in the occurrence of problem behaviors across BIP data with the average deduction in frequency over the school year
changing from 5.96 occurrence to 4.17 occurrences, per comparison of progress monitoring cycles in the Fall 2024 to Spring
2025.
Priority Area 3: All students have a high-quality academic experience
By June 2025, 596X performance in ABLLS Assessment - Domain (B) Visual Performance will Increase by 3% from 9% to 12%, for 6:1:1
Students with Disabilities (SWD), as measured by the ABLLS Assessment. By June 2025, 596X data on SANDI Fast - Operations and Algebra Subtest will Increase by 5% from 52.8% to 57.8%, for 8:1:1 and 12:1:1 Students with Disabilities (SWD), as measured by SANDI/FAST.
Priority Area 4: All students graduate college and career ready and have a strong plan and pathway to economic security
By June 2025, 596X students with disabilities (SWD) who move to a
less restrictive class ratio (LRE) placement will increase by 2% from
0 to 8 students, as measured by program recommendation data.
Priority Area 5: All districts and schools are more inclusive and responsive for parents and families, including having more families choose NYC Public Schools
By June 2025, we will improve the number of students and families who have continued potential for access to OPWDD through sustained participation in the school sponsored intake process by 14% from 13 families to 14 families as measured by parent survey data and Front-Door attendance and follow-through data.
Additional Information on our CEP Goals
STAFF DIRECTORY
Please use the contact information below to reach our school staff. Classroom teachers are listed by unit and can be found on our Contact Your Child's Teacher Page.
Mr. John Siracuse
PRINCIPAL
718-904-5750
Ms. Rebecca
Miles
178 UNIT
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
718-904-5750
Ms. Alyssa
Rigg
178 UNIT
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
718-904-5750
Ms. Dawn
Harney
PARENT COORDINATOR
718-904-5779
Ms. Danielle
Machado
153 UNIT
COORDINATOR
718-904-5758
Ms. Erin Ploetz
498 UNIT
COORDINATOR
718-409-3150
Ms. Erica
Wilson
153 UNIT
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
Ms. Venera
Celentano
PUPIL ACCOUNTING
SECRETARY
718-904-5758
718-904-5750
Mr. Rafael
Montoya
153 UNIT
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
718-904-5758
Mr. Timothy
Currie
498 UNIT
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
718-409-3150
Ms. Camille
Blake
IEP COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR
718-904-5750
Ms. Taya
Karadimova
178 UNIT
COORDINATOR
718-904-5750
Ms. Toni Rodriguez
SOCIAL WORKER
718-904-5750
Ms. Kanetha
Brown-Sampson
178/498 UNIT
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
718-904-5750