Rahway Named a State Model for Inclusive Preschool
The district doubled its inclusion rate, but Superintendent Shoieb says the Pre-K to kindergarten transition still needs improvement.
A teacher reads to students in a Rahway Public Schools preschool classroom. The district was designated a state Demonstration Site for inclusive early childhood education in April 2026. (Photo: Rahway Public Schools)
Chris Howell | April 29, 2026
New Jersey has designated Rahway as a Demonstration Site for the state’s Preschool Inclusive Education Project. The recognition means the district’s early childhood program is now a model for inclusive preschool practices statewide.
The designation was announced at a state Inclusion Conference last Thursday and formally presented to the school board Monday night by Dr. Mykel Brooks, the district’s director of early childhood education. Rather than deliver the news alone, Brooks brought his entire preschool team to the board meeting.
“It’s really the work of this team behind us who really allows us to shine,” Brooks told the board. “We get to go and receive the nice plaques, but it’s because of their work.”
Inclusive preschool means students with disabilities learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms, rather than in separate, self-contained settings. Federal law requires that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. Rahway’s designation reflects the state’s judgment that the district has built a model for how to do that well at the pre-K level.
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Rahway’s preschool inclusion rate has more than doubled over four years, from 27% in the 2021-22 school year to 59% in 2025-26. That means more than half of the district’s preschool students with disabilities now spend their days in inclusive classrooms rather than separate ones.
The shift required more than intent. According to a video presentation shown at the meeting, the district removed physical barriers between self-contained and general education classrooms, retrained staff in Universal Design for Learning and IEP goal writing, and built weekly inclusion planning meetings between general and special education teachers. The curriculum was redesigned to explicitly teach social-emotional skills — turn-taking, managing emotions, problem-solving — within a play-based environment.
“While we’re playing, we’re doing a lot more,” Brooks said. “We are preparing students for their K-12 careers.”
Being named a Demonstration Site isn’t just honorary. Rahway is now expected to collaborate with other school districts, present at conferences, and open its classrooms to visitors from around the state.
Rahway preschool students use Hatch early learning computers. The district’s presentation to the school board highlighted technology integration as part of its inclusive education model. (Photo: Rahway Public Schools)
Board member Jennifer Moteiro noted that most districts recognized by the state have a single demonstration site. Rahway was recognized for two points, which the board took as evidence that the district’s inclusive practices have taken hold beyond a single school.
“The demonstration site visit recognition may start with you guys,” Brooks told the principals and teachers in the room. “So we may be reaching out to have some visitors very soon.”
Superintendent Dr. Aleya Shoieb praised the team but was direct about what comes next. In her budget presentation later in the meeting, Shoieb said the district has identified the Pre-K to kindergarten transition as an area that needs improvement.
“We’ve realized that some of those transitions are not smooth enough,” Shoieb said, “and so we are really focused on that.”
That acknowledgment matters. A program can succeed at the pre-K level and still leave students without adequate support when they reach kindergarten. For students with disabilities in particular, a rough transition can undo gains made in early childhood. The district says increased alignment between its pre-K program and kindergarten instruction is a priority for 2026-27.
Rahway operates 20 mixed-age Pre-K 3 and 4 classes across the district, with three new classrooms set to open this August. Roughly 40% of the district’s students are economically disadvantaged, a figure that makes the quality of publicly provided early childhood education a significant equity issue. Families with fewer resources are less likely to have access to private preschool options.
The recognition also arrives at a difficult moment for public education in New Jersey. Statewide, districts have cut roughly 1,000 educational positions this year amid rising health care costs and what Board President Joseph Toma called a school funding formula that is “woefully inadequate.” Rahway has largely avoided layoffs, Toma said, through long-term fiscal planning and partnership with the city.
For the preschool team seated in the cafeteria of the 7th and 8th Grade Academy on Monday night, the recognition was public acknowledgment for years of daily, unglamorous work.
“I go into a pre-K class, and after about 20 minutes I’m like, oh my god,” Shoieb said. “It really takes a special person. It takes a lot of energy. And all of you are so very wonderful, and positive and energetic. And because of your hard work and dedication, we are here today.”
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