These Shoreham-Wading River educators tag team class lessons

Five years ago, educators Melissa Levonick and Nicole Collins used their experience at Wading River School to create a social studies curriculum that prioritizes student needs. Today, their curriculum is being taught in 38 districts.

“We participate in an Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) program that combines students from both regular and special education,” said Levonick, a fifth-grade teacher.

The duo’s curriculum relies on fluidity, often shifting from a parallel teaching model to co-instruction, or quickly shifting to a teach-and-assist model, depending on student needs.

“We group students for reading, math and word study, tailored to their needs,” said Levonick, 46, of Rocky Point.

The pair said lessons are adapted in real time to ensure that all 24 students, including 12 with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), meet the same educational goals.

“Structure is key,” said Collins, 46, of Port Jefferson Station. “We use lots of visual tools to help them succeed.”

Collins — an early childhood special education teacher — was first paired with Levonick when she began teaching at Wading River School 24 years ago. Currently, they co-teach a fifth-grade class and help oversee the implementation of their curriculum across Nassau BOCES classrooms.

“Sometimes the best curriculum and products are written by teachers themselves,” Shoreham-Wading River school district Superintendent Gerard Poole said.

“They recognized the resources needed to meet the standards in New York State and created a curriculum that aligns with those standards, engages students and makes sense to teachers.”

Levonick and Collins spent summer breaks developing a curriculum and then tested it in class. Most recently, they spearheaded its expansion via support from Nassau BOCES — the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for Nassau County.

The public agency offers shared educational programs to 56 local school districts in New York, according to its website. The agency is the largest BOCES in the state and helps districts offer costly programs they couldn’t develop alone.

Emily Kravitz, a fifth-grade teacher at Wading River School, has used the program for two years and said it is easy to navigate and implement.

“Students are given many opportunities to collaborate with others, including discussing as a class, working with partners and completing hands-on activities, to deepen their understanding of the materials and support their learning,” she said. “All of which has helped ensure students have an opportunity to share their ideas and engage within each lesson.”

Poole added: “They are just two shining stars in our school district. They’re just a great example of the care, passion and skill of the teachers in our school district, and I’m really proud of both of them.”

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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the curriculum and the number of school districts in which it is taught.