Early Childhood Center

The U.S.D. # 437 Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Program is a service provided by the school district to screen, evaluate and provide services to preschool children who have developmental delays or special needs. The program is comprised of Early Childhood Special Education teachers, paraprofessionals, a speech/language pathologist, an occupational and physical therapist, a school nurse, a school social worker, a school psychologist, and a Director of Special Services. The ECSE Program has many components to assure that support and services for preschool children and their families are available. Some of these components include:

Free weekly screenings to identify those children ages birth to five years in need of further evaluation in the developmental skill areas of fine/gross motor, speech/language, cognition (thinking), social/emotional, self help, general health, or vision/hearing.
Comprehensive evaluations for children ages three to five identified during the screening process or referred through other sources. The Early Childhood Special Education staff assists parents in the identification of their child's special needs and helps them in obtaining the services available to meet those needs.
A developmentally appropriate preschool program for children ages three to five who have been identified as having developmental delays or special needs. The classroom curriculum of the preschool incorporates the support services each child qualifies for into the daily classroom activities. An essential component of each classroom is the normally developing peer models that are included.
Family support and involvement. Parents are involved in the screening, evaluation, and education of their children and are considered to be a vital part of the Early Childhood Special Education team. Monthly parent support meetings, monthly parent center days, team meetings, home visits, opportunities for classroom observations and classroom participation are just a few of the ways that parents are included in the program.

If you have concerns or questions about your child's development or if you would like more information about the Auburn-Washburn Early Childhood Special Education Program, please call us at 408.8376.