The Reality I Lived: Seven Years in NYC Special Education

After seven years as both a general and special education teacher in the New York City Department of Education, I’ve lived the impossible equation that defines our profession: provide individualized, evidence-based support to 25+ students with complex needs, document every intervention, coordinate with families across diverse cultural contexts, and find time for actual teaching and relationship-building.

I remember rushing between my co-taught inclusion classes and self-contained special education classroom, trying to provide quality behavioral support while managing an ever-growing mountain of IEP paperwork. During lunch breaks, I’d frantically update behavior intervention plans, knowing that three more families were waiting for progress updates I hadn’t had time to write. Like thousands of my colleagues, I entered education passionate about helping children succeed—but increasingly found myself drowning in administrative tasks that pulled me away from what I do best: teaching.

The statistics tell the story I lived: special education teacher turnover rates hover around 25% annually, with unsustainable workloads as the primary reason for leaving. In my years in NYC schools, I watched brilliant, dedicated educators burn out not from lack of caring, but from systems that made caring sustainably nearly impossible. I saw teachers leave mid-year because they couldn’t balance the caseload demands with the individualized attention their students deserved.

Traditional solutions—more training, better documentation, increased staffing—address symptoms but not the root challenge: extending therapeutic support beyond school hours while reducing, not increasing, the burden on educational professionals.

Why I Trust curaJOY’s Approach: Research-Based Ethics in Action

As an educator who has seen too many “innovative” solutions fail our students, I’m naturally skeptical of new technologies. I’ve sat through countless product demos where companies claimed their platform would “revolutionize” special education, only to see them add more work to teachers’ plates while providing little actual value to students and families.

But curaJOY’s approach has earned my trust because it prioritizes “safety, cultural adaptation, and clinician supervision” in AI implementation—the very principles I wished every edtech company would embrace during my teaching years.

Having worked with families from over 30 countries during my NYC teaching years—from recent immigrants to multi-generational New Yorkers—I understand why the organization’s philosophy resonates: “AI collaborates with families, teachers, and clinicians, providing transparent, culturally responsive support” while maintaining human professional judgment as central decision-making authority. This isn’t about replacing educators—it’s about amplifying what we already do well.

From My Classroom Experience to Comprehensive Support

In my years teaching in the Bronx, I repeatedly faced the same challenge: students who thrived in our structured classroom environment but struggled with transitions and behavioral strategies at home. I watched dedicated parents feel overwhelmed trying to implement the same visual schedules, calming strategies, and communication techniques that worked so well during the school day.

I’d send home detailed strategy sheets after IEP meetings, knowing they often got lost in translation—not because families didn’t care, but because implementing therapeutic techniques without ongoing support is incredibly difficult. I remember one parent conference where a mother broke down crying, saying, “I understand what you’re teaching me, but when he’s having a meltdown at 7 PM and I’m exhausted from work, I forget everything you told me.”

The MyCuraJOY platform addresses exactly this gap I experienced daily. The platform serves as “a family wellness hub that brings parents, kids, teachers, and healthcare providers together to improve relationships and reduce challenging behaviors.” This represents the kind of comprehensive, ongoing support I always wanted to provide families but couldn’t deliver within traditional school constraints.

The Research Foundation That Builds My Confidence

What gives me confidence in recommending curaJOY’s approach is the rigorous research foundation—something I learned to demand after years of seeing flashy education technology that lacked substance. The platform “automates currently manual, time-consuming clinical psychoeducational intake and evaluation processes for both consumers and service providers, immediately delivering evidence-based social and mental health support (from diagnostics, and monitoring to skill building) globally despite workforce and infrastructure limitations.”

As someone who spent countless hours on Functional Behavior Assessments and behavior intervention plans—often working late into the evening to complete them properly—knowing that families can access coaching grounded in the same evidence-based practices I used in my classroom, but available 24/7, represents a genuine breakthrough. This isn’t replacing the clinical work I did; it’s extending it in ways I never could as one teacher with 28 students on my caseload.

Cultural Responsiveness That Honors My Students’ Families

My years teaching in NYC schools taught me that effective behavioral support must honor diverse family structures and communication styles. I learned this lesson repeatedly when working with families from the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Ecuador—all in the same classroom. What worked for one family’s approach to discipline and communication often conflicted with another family’s cultural values and child-rearing practices.

I remember struggling to explain to colleagues why certain behavioral interventions weren’t working, not because they were wrong, but because they didn’t align with how families naturally interacted at home. I needed tools that could adapt evidence-based strategies to fit different cultural contexts, rather than expecting families to change their fundamental values to match our interventions.

curaJOY’s approach to “culturally sensitive and equitable programs, including AI-driven tools like diverse 3D AI coaches that match user identities” reflects the kind of cultural responsiveness I always strived for but rarely had the resources to fully implement. The platform ensures interventions align with family values while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness—something I wished I could have offered every family I worked with during my seven years in the classroom.

Addressing the Access Crisis I Witnessed Daily

During my seven years in NYC schools, I watched families wait months for behavioral health services while their children struggled daily in my classroom. I’d refer students for counseling or behavioral support, knowing the waiting lists were so long that many families would give up before receiving services. Meanwhile, challenging behaviors escalated, and I was expected to manage them without additional support.

curaJOY’s mission to make “behavioral health support available to everyone, including those in regions lacking infrastructure or expertise, providing immediate help without waitlists” addresses a crisis I witnessed firsthand. The platform offers “online psychoeducational assessments, personalized coaching, skill-building activities, and a rewards system to encourage consistent implementation” while ensuring families have “access to a secure, centralized record of their progress and communication with providers.” This represents the kind of comprehensive support I always wanted to provide but couldn’t deliver within traditional school constraints.

Research That Changed My Perspective: “In My Shoes”

One tool that particularly resonates with my teaching experience is the “In My Shoes” simulation app, developed by Dr. Marc Lanovaz, PhD, BCBA-D at the University of Montreal. As someone who spent years trying to help general education colleagues understand why certain accommodations weren’t “special treatment,” this research-based tool addresses a critical need I faced daily.

I remember countless times when general education teachers would question why a student needed movement breaks or noise-canceling headphones, assuming these were just excuses to avoid work. I struggled to help them understand the genuine sensory and processing challenges that made learning difficult for my students.

The simulation allows educators to experience “the challenges of everyday tasks like going to the dentist for neurodivergent individuals via a 10-minute simulation.” “Originally developed to provide users with immersive simulations of sensory sensitivities, social interactions, and communication challenges experienced by individuals on the autism spectrum, the app has been expanded to include simulations of refugee, BIPOC, and low-SES experiences.”

This research demonstrates that “users gain valuable insights into autism and marginalization, and develop empathy through interactive experiences.” Having facilitated countless IEP meetings where I tried to explain why a student needed specific accommodations, I see the transformative potential of this evidence-based empathy-building tool. It addresses something I never could in my classroom: helping educators truly understand what learning feels like for our most vulnerable students.

The Impact I’ve Seen: From Theory to Practice

After seven years of watching families struggle to implement school strategies at home while I struggled to provide adequate support within system constraints, I’m energized by curaJOY’s approach to bridging these gaps through sustainable, evidence-based support systems:

Reduced Administrative Burden—Finally

The platform’s ability to “automate currently manual, time-consuming clinical psychoeducational intake and evaluation processes” addresses one of the biggest challenges I faced as a special educator. I spent hours each week updating behavior tracking sheets, writing progress notes, and preparing data for IEP meetings—time that could have been spent actually teaching. Imagine having more time for actual instruction and relationship-building because the data collection and progress monitoring happens seamlessly in the background.

Family Engagement That Actually Works

In my teaching experience, when parents felt confident implementing behavioral strategies at home, everything improved—attendance, homework completion, and most importantly, the student’s overall emotional well-being. But providing that confidence required more ongoing support than I could offer with 28 students on my caseload. The platform’s multi-modal approach ensures families can access support through their preferred communication channels—something I tried to do manually through texts, calls, and emails but never had the resources to sustain.

Student Outcomes That Reflect Real Learning

My students benefited most when their support was consistent across environments, but coordinating between home and school strategies was often my biggest challenge. Students would make progress in my classroom, then regress at home because families didn’t have the support they needed to maintain interventions. When families access **”evidence-based social and mental health support (from diagnostics, and monitoring to skill building)”** that complements school-based interventions, that consistency becomes achievable in ways I never experienced as a classroom teacher.

The Technology I Can Trust: Ethics and Evidence Combined

Clinician Supervision That Protects Professional Integrity

What convinces me to support curaJOY’s approach is knowing that every recommendation comes from **”a multidisciplinary team of licensed counselors, psychologists, and behavior analysts”** who ensure all suggestions align with established therapeutic protocols. During my teaching years, I saw too many technology companies try to automate clinical decision-making without understanding the complexity of behavioral interventions. This isn’t a tech company pretending to understand education—it’s clinicians using technology to scale their expertise responsibly.

Evidence-Based Methodology I Recognize

curaJOY’s approach focuses on “changing human behavior by modifying the environment rather than trying to change the individual directly,” using evidence-based strategies I employed daily in my classroom. This grounding in applied behavior analysis gives me confidence that families are receiving the same quality interventions I worked to provide my students, but with the ongoing support and accessibility I never could offer as one teacher managing multiple roles.

Looking Forward: Why Educators Should Lead This Conversation

As I prepare to share insights at conferences like SXSW EDU 2026, I’m continually amazed by educational professionals embracing innovative approaches to challenges I lived for seven years. The future of special education isn’t about replacing human expertise with artificial intelligence—it’s about amplifying that expertise to reach more students consistently across all learning environments.

Having witnessed the dedication of NYC educators working in under-resourced schools, struggling to serve students despite overwhelming system constraints, I believe we have a responsibility to shape how AI develops in our field. We can’t let technology companies define what educational AI looks like without practitioner input.

curaJOY’s approach of providing “evidence-based social and mental health support… globally despite workforce and infrastructure limitations” represents the kind of innovation that could have transformed my daily practice as a teacher. It addresses the sustainability crisis I lived while maintaining the research integrity and cultural responsiveness that effective special education requires.

For My Fellow Educators: Practical Guidance

Based on my seven years in NYC classrooms and my current work developing AI solutions for education, here’s my advice for colleagues considering AI support:

Start with Clear Outcomes: What challenges kept you up at night as a teacher? For me, it was knowing families needed more support than I could provide. Focus on solutions that address real teaching challenges, not theoretical problems.

Prioritize Ethical Implementation: Look for solutions that maintain your professional judgment as the final decision-maker. AI should amplify your expertise, not replace the clinical thinking that makes you effective.

Ensure Cultural Responsiveness: Your diverse students deserve interventions that honor their families’ perspectives. Generic solutions never worked in my NYC classrooms, and they won’t work anywhere else.

Measure What Matters: Beyond efficiency, track what made you become a teacher—student growth, family satisfaction, and your own professional fulfillment. Technology should enhance these outcomes, not complicate them.

Building Trust Through Transparency

As an educator who has seen technology promises broken repeatedly, what gives me confidence in curaJOY is their commitment to transparency about both capabilities and limitations. They’re not claiming their AI will solve all our problems—they’re providing research-based tools that amplify the professional judgment and cultural responsiveness that effective teachers already bring to our work.

During my teaching years, I learned to be skeptical of solutions that seemed too good to be true. curaJOY’s approach feels different because it acknowledges the complexity of what we do while providing practical support for the challenges that burned me out: endless documentation, limited family support resources, and the impossible task of providing individualized attention to every student who needs it.

Every day, I hear from educators discovering that thoughtfully designed AI can enhance rather than threaten the human connections that make education transformative. These stories fuel my continued advocacy for research-based, ethically grounded educational technology that serves practitioners and students rather than profit margins.

The conversation about AI in education is happening whether we participate or not. As educators with real classroom experience, we have a responsibility to ensure these discussions are grounded in the reality of teaching and the needs of our students. We lived these challenges—now we have the opportunity to shape the solutions.

As an educator with seven years of experience in NYC schools and current expertise in AI product development, I encourage you to explore curaJOY’s evidence-based approach at www.curajoy.org. See how research-grounded technology can amplify the expertise you bring to supporting all learners.