“Preparing Young Children and Families for a Successful Transition”

Early Childhood Special Education Program District Preschool Programs for 4 year old children

 EDN: Birth to age Three-Verified students are on IFSP  Age Three to Five-transition to IEP  Staff:  2 Service Coordinators  3 Early Childhood Special Education Teachers  2 Speech/Language Pathologists  1 Occupational Therapist  1 Physical Therapist

 Birth to age Three is in the natural environment, home generally  Three to Five year olds are seen in their natural environment:  Examples-Home; Child care in the home or a facility, a park, museum and other community settings in which children without disabilities participate  Number of children: 74 with verified disabilities 20 children in process of evaluation  Verified disabilities: Autism, Developmental Delay, Hearing Impairment, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, and Speech-Language Impairment 

 We use the Primary Service Provider model  We also use the Coach approach  Our goals on an IFSP especially for our Birth to Three children are family centered, based upon a Routines Based Interview conducted with each family  This is based upon the belief that the parents are the child’s first and primary “teacher”. We are there to support and partner with the family in this role.

 To continue to build capacity with our ECSE staff to utilize the Routines Based Interview process and increase our capacity to write student/family centered goals.  This is our emphasis for the ‘15-’16 school year.

 We currently have five District Preschool Programs  Enrollment as of 11/1/15 (A.M. and P.M.)  Jefferson-16/16  Buffalo-8/11  Lincoln-11/12  Washington-14/15  Cody-10/10  Total: 123 students  All programs were begun as Early Childhood State Grants

All four year olds in the North Platte Public School District will have access to a quality early childhood Strategic Objective 1: To fill all 160 available slots in NPPS District preschool programs.  Strategic Objective 2: To sustain permanent Early Childhood Program space within the NPPS District for our existing five locations.  Strategic Objective 3: To continue to support licensed community providers (including home based childcare providers) in their efforts to enhance quality services to children and families.

 Covers Language, Literacy and Math  Combination of Teacher Directed and Child Choice. Much of the classroom time is hands on.  Teachers do two home visits.  The first visit covers:  Handbook, hours of class time and schedule, parents fill out questionnaire based on GOLD assessment. Family activities/follow- ups from concerns, questions, and referrals.  Second home visit is a “parent conference” to give a progress report, and to give suggestions to parents regarding how they can help their child at home to help support Kindergarten readiness.

Funding Sources:  Federal IDEA Grant (Staff Salaries)  TEEOSA (State Aid for 4 year olds)  Local Funds  NCLB Funds