This guide, in both English and Russian, is intended for parents and guardians of children participating in bilingual or monolingual English-medium general education or bilingual special education programs in the New York City public schools. It provides general information about mainstreaming, the integration of special education students into general education classes and/or school-wide activities, and how students benefit from this process. Mainstreaming is based on the concept that children should be educated in the least restrictive environment to meet their needs best. This guide describes how academic and non-academic mainstreaming work, the objectives of the approach, benefits for both general education and special education students, the role of general education in mainstreaming through both academic and non-academic activities, how the program is planned, implemented, and monitored by the mainstreaming committee, and the role of the parent or guardian in the student's learning process. A number of commonly-asked questions are also answered. (MSE)