Special Education Preschool Program
Program Model
The Special Education Preschool Program is located at Snoqualmie Elementary School. Classes are held Monday through Thursday, with 2 1/2 hour sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Our classrooms vary in size, generally ranging from 8 to 16 students, and are taught by certificated special education teachers, with the assistance of trained paraprofessionals. The occupational therapist and the speech language pathologist also participate in each classroom, leading small groups and providing therapy services within the classroom environment. They also provide these services on a pull-out basis, if needed.
Our classrooms include children with and without delays in development. Children who qualify for this program as special education students have an identified delay in development which may involve the areas of speech/language, fine motor, gross motor, social, cognitive, and/or self-help. Children with typically developing skills are also enrolled in these classes. Since these children have not qualified as special education students, their families pay tuition to enroll them in this program. This allows us to provide an integrated learning environment for children with a wide range of skill development, enabling all of the students to interact with and learn from one another.
Curriculum
Our curriculum is based on the Washington State Learning and Development Benchmarks and the learning needs of the children, with activities included addressing all individualized learning objectives. Teachers refer to Creative Curriculum, Funnel to Phonics, and The Young Child and Mathematics for ideas. Opportunities to develop pre-academic skills, critical for future school success are embedded throughout the preschool day. Our classes establish predictable schedules for our students, with a balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities. Thematic units provide the framework for the activities planned. The themes might include topics such as forest animals, transportation, or dinosaurs, or may revolve around the books of favorite authors of children.
Assessment
Teachers use the Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development II annually to assess student growth prior to the annual IEP review. Curriculum-based assessment tools and observation are used to measure skill acquisition and maintenance on an on-going basis.
Parent Involvement
We recognize that parents play a key role in the education of their children. We strive to provide information and support to parents as they work with us in this educational process. Parents participate in the development of their child’s individualized educational program. They may also elect to be involved with helping in the preschool classroom, preparing classroom materials at home, going on field trips, attending family fun nights, participating in parent meetings, and having consultation visits in their homes with preschool staff.
Extended Day Preschool Program
For some of our students, the IEP team will determine the need for additional specialized instruction. These students are then given the opportunity to participate in an extended preschool day. During this time the students participate in small group and some one-to-one sessions, and they also might work at independent work stations. The specific programs offered during this time are highly individualized, based on the needs of each student. Some of the programs used during this time include discrete trial training, picture schedules, social skills and communication training, and picture communication systems. Support is given to generalize skills learned in the extended day program into the preschool classroom. Some activities that will be later used in the preschool class may be pre-taught in the extended day program
Preschool Program