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Elevate K-12’s Special Ed Live

When it comes to Special Ed,
doing nothing is not a solution.

Give students with IEPs the support they need to succeed, from an experienced certified special education teacher that cares.​ With interactive, synchronous learning and built-in differentiation, our platform helps diverse learners thrive.

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4 ways districts use Special Ed Live

Self-Contained Core

Primary grade-level instruction from certified special ed teacher in a small-group setting. Designed for individualized support and content mastery.

Resource Room

Small-group grade-level or remedial support for students who need additional instruction, offered as pull-out sessions or scheduled interventions to reinforce key concepts.

Specially Designed Instruction

Small-group or 1:1, noncredit-bearing instruction with a certified special ed teacher aligned to academic IEP goals. Includes biweekly with progress monitoring and flexible scheduling.

Alleviate Caseloads

Provide extra bandwidth and support for on the-ground special education teachers, freeing them up to focus on supporting inclusion, individual intervention, progress monitoring, and IEPs.

How Special Ed LIVE works

1

Classroom set-up

Special Ed LIVE classrooms are flexible to match your service model.

  • Self-Contained Core and Resource Room: Small groups of up to 12 students meet 3–5 days per week for scheduled class periods.
  • Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): Students receive targeted instruction in 1:1 or small-group (1–4) settings, scheduled around required IEP minutes.

2

Cluster seating

Students sit in clusters of 2-4 with their Special Ed LIVE teacher on a large screen at the front of class. An in-person Classroom Coach circulates to support as needed.

Elevate Specialed Classroom

A typical day

  1. Special Ed LIVE classes all begin with a consistent welcome routine, starting with the teacher greeting students by name as soon as they enter.
  2. Class time is spent building foundational skills in core content and helping students access grade-level content through group and individual practice. 
  3. Throughout class, the Elevate K-12 platform prompts students to assess their understanding, giving Special Ed LIVE teachers real-time data to help customize their live instruction.
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Insights & impact

From national trends to classroom stories, explore how schools are rethinking special education.

Empowering Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Learn how to empower students with SLDs.

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Special Ed Webinar Ondemand

Discover innovative solutions to support special ed staffing.

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Accommodations & reporting are covered

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Accommodations & Modifications

Accommodations are built-into each lesson, for example extended time, brain breaks, and visual reinforcement. Plus, all individual student accommodations from IEPs are addressed by our teachers and materials.

Photo: Students stretch during a “Brain Break”

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Adapted Content

Our content is adapted to support diverse learning needs. By focusing on the most important learning standards, reducing complex reading passages and ambiguous language, slower pacing, and additional practice, student gain access to grade-level content.

Photo: Our adapted content breaks concepts into smaller, more accessible components

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Reporting

Our Inclusive Learning Coordinators collaborate with your school’s case manager, special ed coordinator, or lead teacher to provide timely student-centered data and support you in fulfilling your reporting requirements.

Photo: We provide student participation & attendance data, summative & formative assessment data, plus class work status & grades

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Meet Ms. Ingram, a Special Ed LIVE teacher!

Meet a live teacher

With 13 years of teaching experience on average, our teachers are passionate, dedicated educators who are truly remarkable.

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Discover which Special Ed Live courses
can best support your students

Math

  • Pre-Algebra​
  • Algebra I​*
  • Algebra II​*
  • Geometry*​
  • Pre-Calculus​
  • Calculus​
  • Probability & Statistics

English

  • ELA 9*
  • ELA 10*
  • ELA 11 American Literature*
  • ELA 12 World Literature*

*Adapted content available

Social Studies

  • United States History​
  • Civics and U.S. Government​
  • World Geography​
  • World History
  • Economics​

Science

  • Biology​
  • Environmental Science​
  • Chemistry​
  • Physical Science​
  • Physics​
  • Earth Science

Math

  • Pre-Algebra​
  • Algebra I​*
  • Math 6*
  • Math 7*
  • Math 8*

English

  • ELA 6*
  • ELA 7*
  • ELA 8*

*Adapted content available

Social Studies

  • Ancient Civilizations​
  • Civics​
  • History of the​Modern World​
  • World Geography
  • Social Studies 6-8 (District Curriculum Only)

Science

  • Earth and Space ​Science
  • Life Science​
  • Middle School ​Integrated Science​
  • Physical Science

Math

  • Math 3*
  • Math 4*
  • Math 5*

English

  • ELA 3*
  • ELA 4*
  • ELA 5*

*Adapted content available

Social Studies

  • Social Studies 3-5 (District Curriculum Only)

Science

  • Science 3-5 (District Curriculum Only)

Schools & students say it works

We’ve heard from schools, teachers, and students that Special Ed LIVE works!

I like my Elevate LIVE class! It helps me because the teacher explains things slowly. She uses slides and I really like her voice.
6th Grade Student
North Carolina
I am impressed with how well the Special Ed LIVE program is going. The content goes back far, which is good because I was shocked to see how many students did not know the foundational skills.
Special Education Supervisor
North Carolina
We looked hard for Special Ed teachers, but just couldn’t find them. Finally we piloted the Elevate K-12 Special Ed classroom and the results were phenomenal. We honestly couldn’t believe how well it worked.
Michael Harris
Senior Director of Talent Management, Milwaukee Public Schools

Let us help you meet your special education staffing needs.

Get in touch

Special Education FAQs

Elevate’s Special Ed LIVE is a virtual instructional model for students with mild to moderate disabilities who have an IEP. Certified special education teachers deliver engaging, grade-level or functional-level instruction based on student needs, in small-group virtual classrooms with in-person adult support. 

  1. Self-Contained Core: Grade-level instruction delivered to a small group of students who do not attend this subject with general education peers. These are credit-bearing courses. 
  2. Resource Room: Targeted instruction in a specific subject to support students who may need content at a different level or a second exposure (“double dip”) in addition to general education. 
  3. Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): Non-credit-bearing instruction aligned to students’ IEP goals, delivered 1:1 or in small groups (1–4 students). SDI supports academic skill development in math or ELA, not tied to a core curriculum. 

Unlike Resource Room, which reinforces classroom content, SDI is fully personalized and based solely on IEP goals. Unlike Self-Contained Core, SDI is non-credit-bearing and doesn’t follow a fixed curriculum. It is designed to support compliance and student progress with flexibility and individualization. 

Classes can follow Elevate’s in-house developed core or adapted content or use your district-adopted curriculum. All content is enhanced and supplemented with Nearpod’s interactive platform to provide engaging, differentiated instruction that meets individual student needs. 

Elevate’s math & ELA general education content is adapted by Special Education Subject Matter Experts. These experienced Special Educators review each unit, lesson by lesson and reduce text on each page, remove ambiguity, add more checks-for-understanding, increase brain breaks within instruction, and ensure emphasis on major standard clusters at each grade level. Additionally, students are provided guided notes and visual reinforcement of key vocabulary. 

Elevate’s Portal and Otus work platforms offer built in accommodations to support student learning and ensure accommodations are being met. The online tools provide accommodations such as built in extended time, alteration of text sizes text to speech support and recorded lessons. Students can also utilize the live instructor and Classroom Coach for additional support as needed. 

Ahead of programming, an Inclusive Learning Coordinator will collect students’ needs for each program roster. This Elevate team member empowers the teaching team with the details teachers need to tailor instruction for each student from day 1, including accommodations, modifications, and behavior intervention plans. For SDI, they also oversee goal tracking and compliance documentation. 

Elevate’s Inclusive Learning Coordinator’s primary role is to ensure the success of each student in our Special Ed LIVE Teaching Classrooms. In addition to virtual observations of teaching and learning, the Inclusive Learning Coordinator will review and share data with on-site school leaders 1-2 times per month. Data includes student performance metrics, attendance, participation, and engagement information. Through increased collaboration and regularly scheduled meetings, students’ progress will be monitored throughout. 

SDI teachers submit biweekly progress notes using Elevate’s internal tracking tools. Notes include IEP goal ratings, time stamps, session artifacts, and observations. ILCs review and share these updates monthly with district leaders.

No. Elevate teachers focus on instruction and progress tracking. They collaborate with on-site staff, attend meetings as needed, and share data, but case management remains the responsibility of district staff.

Yes. SDI is ideal for delivering focused, skill-based instruction tied to IEP goals. Teachers can support phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, or math skill development based on student needs.

Classroom Coaches support login, engagement, behavior redirection, and material prep. They help implement accommodations and meet weekly with the Elevate teacher to plan instruction. This role is essential in both core and SDI settings. 

See All FAQs