The Hopewell school system this fall will start a program to try to keep more special-education students within the city's schools.

The transition program is for students who, without additional support, could end up being placed outside the school system. The initiative also will serve as a bridge for students who are coming back into the city schools, said Sheila B. Bailey, Hopewell's director of student services. They will receive intense instruction in reading and math.

"Rather than just bringing them back, putting them back into the environment without the same level of support that they would receive in a day-school placement, our proposal is to bring them back in this transitional program that's supported with a full-time special-ed teacher, a full-time special-ed paraprofessional and a full-time counselor," she said.

Placing special-education students in centers outside the school system costs $100 to $300 a day, per student, Bailey said.

Currently, 36 Hopewell students attend the LEAD Center, a private therapeutic day school in Hopewell that serves students ages 5 to 21 with mental and emotional disabilities. An additional 30 students have been identified for possible placement outside the school system, said Superintendent Winston O. Odom.

"Our desire is to keep them from day placement and residential placement," he said. "If we keep those 30 out of day placement and bring back from the 36 [students at the LEAD Center], over time the impact will be significant."

The school district's special-education population of 688 students is growing and with it the costs, Odom said.

"It is a concern not only from our perspective but the state as well."

Funding for special-education students comes from federal, state and local governments. The Hopewell special-education transition program is expected to cost $206,632.

It is uncertain at this point how much the school system will save with the new initiative, but since some of the resources needed for the program are already in place, in the long run it would cost less than enrolling students outside the schools, said S. Ray Watson, assistant superintendent for administration.

The program will serve all grade levels, Bailey said.

"We really want to get our students back into the classroom so they can benefit from a full school service," she said. "The secondary benefit [is that] there is cost savings."

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com.