What is a Consultant Teacher?

At West Buffalo Charter School we use the Consultant Teacher model to provide Special Education services to students identified as having a disability in the area of ELA (Reading and Writing) and/or Mathematics.

Consultant teacher services support students with disabilities who are enrolled in general education classes. The intent of consultant teacher services is to provide direct and/or indirect instructional support to students and their teachers which does not require removing the student from the general education classroom.    

A Consultant Teacher:

• Provides academic services to students with disabilities in his/her general education classroom.

• Collaborates and co-teaches with the classroom teacher and teacher assistant/aide.

• Communicates with parents and families.

• Plans and implements the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

• Documents student progress according to their IEP Goals.  For example, “Student will identify all 26 letters of the alphabet during three out of five trials over one month using recorded observations every two weeks.”

• Attends all Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings annually to reflect upon and update the student’s IEP.  

• Meets once every three years with CSE for a complete reevaluation to determine the child’s current level of need. 

• Maintains and secures all files and records pertaining to Special Education.

• Works in partnership with Buffalo Public Schools, Related Service Providers (Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Physical Therapists, Hearing Teachers, and Social Workers), and Language to Literacy Specialist.