When a student in Elizabeth Bonney’s class at PS 88 in Ridgewood, Queens, is asked to explain a rubric, he answers succinctly: “Four is really good, three is OK, two is so-so and one is not good.”

What makes his answer impressive is that he is one of eight students in Bonney’s self-contained special education class. Her students range in age from 8 to 11 years old and require a range of support services. For Bonney, they are all students deserving of a full learning experience.

“I love honoring their capability,” says Bonney.

She’s willing to try many things to figure out what will help her students learn — including a monthly visit from Sammy, a therapy dog. Bonney is planning a trip to the supermarket for the class, thinking ahead to the day when they will need to know how to navigate a store. The walls of her classroom are a testament to what she does every day: In addition to a word wall with the alphabet and new words to learn, there are pictures of the students cooking muffins and petting Sammy as well as letters they write or dictate to Bonney, in which they thank Sammy’s owner for bringing the dog to visit with them.

“Elizabeth has such high expectations for her students,” says Justine Lucas, PS 88’s assistant principal for special education. “She facilitates that by taking the time to explain things such as the rubric so they can explain it. And the students are so capable.”

Bonney wanted to be a teacher since she was in 2nd grade at a Catholic school; as a 9th-grader at St. John’s Prep in Astoria, she started working with a special needs student. “I lived a block from her and worked with her after school,” Bonney recalls. “I got her to read.”

Another hallmark of Bonney’s class: how she nurtures her students’ interpersonal skills. “One boy in the class is more sensitive than last year,” says Bonney. “Another child picked up on my encouragement and now she boosts him, too.”

Paraprofessional Ana Vazquez guides students making Christmas ornaments out of foam pieces shaped like mittens and gingerbread men. “It’s not just learning skills but learning to interact with each other,” Vazquez says.

Unprompted, two students bring their ornaments over to show Yandel, one of their classmates.

Creating a common experience for the children — who have different learning levels — is another feature of Bonney’s class. Christina, age 10, works with paraprofessional Jadwiga Prokop on sounding out her name and address. “It’s a pleasure to be in this class,” Prokop says. “The children are working hard.”

Last year, Bonney noted, Christina was afraid of Sammy and sat in her chair with her legs up; this year, she started petting the dog and even “dresses” Sammy by placing a sweater on his back.

But she’s also learning math during Sammy’s monthly visits. Christina “paid” eight cents to dress Sammy. It will cost 25 cents to pet Sammy and 40 cents to get a “high five” from the dog (with the aid of owner/handler Amy Bahr). Students count out each coin and place them on the dog’s back.

“It’s amazing how far they’ve come,” says Bahr, who has been bringing Sammy to Bonney’s class through Therapy Dogs International of New Jersey since October 2014.

Several parents recently visited the class to see Sammy in action with their children.

Teresa Taveras has seen her son, Antonio, blossom in Bonney’s class. “He started reading and doing math, and he’s more social with other children,” Taveras says.

The dog’s visits also have had an effect. “He spoke in whispers, but after interacting with Sammy he speaks up more,” says Taveras.

The signs of a close-knit class are everywhere. When his time with Sammy is over, Antonio goes to his desk to do a coloring assignment. He brings a box of crayons over from a shelf and places it on the desk of a fellow student so they can share it. In another part of the classroom, Christina extends a hand to guide Prokop, her paraprofessional, up from a chair.

When Bonney surveys her class of students at the end of a day of learning, she’s reminded all over again of why she chose to teach.

“They thrill me every day,” she says.