Special Education and ECEAP Preschool Family Handbook 2019-2020 Early Learning Dome 400 West Viola Ave Yakima, WA 98902 509-573-5980 FAX 509-573-5990 “Every Child, Every Family, Every Day…” 1 Dear Preschool Families, Welcome to the new school year! We are pleased to have your child(ren) and you join us as we begin the school year in Early Learning. Each child attending preschool is important to us. We pledge our best efforts to offer an excellent educational experience for your child. Our preschool programs emphasize early literacy (reading), writing, early numeracy (math), social skills, physical skills and communication skills to help build the foundation for kindergarten readiness. School attendance, punctuality, and a good night’s sleep are all key components for student success. We look forward to partnering with you in order to make your child’s school year a successful one. Families and school staff working together will help us to make your child’s upcoming school year a positive and safe one. Please review, keep this family handbook, and reference it throughout the year. We included information that will be helpful to our families as we begin the new school year. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or our school office at (509)-573-5980. For ECEAP families you may also contact your Family Support Specialist with any questions you may have. Please make sure to send your child’s backpack to school with them every day. It is important that their school tag, provided by the teacher, is on their backpack every day for safety. Please put a change of clothes in their backpack in case of an accident. Also, please send in extra diapers and/or pull-ups if needed. Please mark all belongings with child’s first and last names, as many items look alike. Thank you for keeping all toys and personal belongings at home. Some of our students and staff have allergies. For safety, we strive to be a nut-free, gum-free and fragrance-free program. Please help us keep everyone safe by not sending food with your child that has any type of nuts in the ingredients. We look forward to supporting your child’s learning this year. Thank you for allowing Yakima School District the privilege of being a part of the early education of your child and preparing their educational foundation. Thank you, Danielle DeLange Julie McDougall Early Learning Director Assistant Director Every Child, Every Family, Every Day! 400 West Viola Ave, Yakima, Washington 98902 I Call 509-573-5980 I Fax 509-573-5990 https://www.yakimaschools.org/ 2 Yakima School District Early Learning Department The Early Learning Department provides preschool experiences in a classroom setting for children who reside in the school district boundaries, including children with special needs and children who qualify for ECEAP. Yakima School District Early Learning is dedicated to meeting the needs of all students. We strive to help students reach their highest academic and social potential with readiness for success in the K-12 program. Early childhood programs are designed for the purpose of fostering the development of children's intellectual, social, emotional and motor skills. All programs will operate in a manner consistent with best practice and research in early childhood education and are consistent with state licensing requirements for both curriculum and facilities. Early Learning offers programs in the district that are designed to accommodate diversity: that is, they are designed to enable the full inclusion of young children with disabilities – as well as those with limited English proficiency – in the full range of program and curriculum activities. Early Learning offers Developmental Preschool, Integrated, and ECEAP Preschool. As funding for early childhood is not included as part of the state’s basic education allocation to the district, services available for early childhood education in YSD will be targeted, as available, to priority populations. Early Learning Dome Office 400 West Viola Ave. Yakima, WA 98902 Office and Attendance Line for ALL Early Learning Programs: (509) 573-5980 Adams Elementary Barge-Lincoln Elementary Hoover Elementary McClure Elementary 723 S. 8th Street 219 E. “I” Street 400 W. Viola Ave. 1222 S. 22nd Ave Yakima, WA 98901 Yakima, WA 98901 Yakima, WA 98902 Yakima, WA 98902 Developmental Preschool Integrated Preschool ECEAP Preschool Preschool for students ages 3-5 An integrated program for students A state-funded program that is who qualify for special education with special needs and community offered full day to students 4 services in a variety of students in the same classroom. This days/week. ECEAP focuses on the developmental areas and focus on integrated approach guides children well-being of the whole child by student’s individual needs. through the normal stages of providing comprehensive nutrition, Transportation available for development while taking into health, education and family support students with an IEP. account the specific needs of each services to YSD’s most at-risk child. Transportation available for students. Children are eligible for students with an IEP. this program based on their age and family income. Transportation is not provided for this program. 3 Our Mission We envision early learning programs that: ❖ are proactive in embracing the uniqueness of every family and child; ❖ are accepting, honoring, and welcoming of all types of family participation in the program; ❖ ensure consistent “best practices” for staff, children and families. Our Motto Every Child…Every Family…Every Day! Our Goals o Provide a learning environment and curriculum appropriate to individual needs. o Promote social, physical, intellectual and emotional development. o Recruit, identify and select eligible children with the greatest needs. o Provide families with services or referrals necessary to ensure needs are adequately met. o Provide a wide variety of opportunities for parents to be involved in the program and educational processes of their children. o Empower families to overcome factors, which may put their children at risk of future school failure. o Provide provisions that all children receive medical and dental services. o Provide awareness of health, mental health, and nutrition issues and services available. o Ensure provision of nutritious meals and snacks, which meet requirements by the USDA standards. Curriculum (various curricula used throughout our programs) Social Learning Without Literacy PreK Writing STAR Eureka Math Skills- Tears DLM Early Childhood Building the Program Second Handwriting Express Foundation (Autism) STEP 4 Early Learning Program Policies and Procedures Attendance Each day is an essential part of your child’s preschool experience. Maintaining a regular routine for school will provide many benefits to your child such as, peer socialization, pre-academic skills, meal times and health activities. In order for your child to gain the most from these activities, it is important that they arrive to school on time. Please call the preschool office every day your child will be absent (509) 573-5980. Reasons for excused absences include: ● Illness ● Medical & dental appointments ● Pre-arranged absences (arranged with your teacher and office staff). If you are unable to bring your child to school because of transportation or personal issues, contact your child’s teacher or the office to see if we can find a solution. As these types of absences are generally unexcused, planning ahead and building a support network for back-up child care and transportation will reduce unnecessary absences. ECEAP Performance Standards state that children should be in attendance 85% of the scheduled time. If your child’s attendance falls below an 85% average for the month, you will be contacted by your Family Support Specialist to see if there is any way that we can help to improve your child’s attendance. We strive for this standard for all Early Learning programs. The Family will: ● Notify the classroom by phone or note if the child is ill, has a planned absence, or the family is leaving the program area; and, ● Work with the program staff to resolve attendance issues, including specific problems concerning children with disabilities. ● Sign In/Out: Parents are required to sign their child in and out of the office each day. The “BECCA Bill” Washington’s truancy law (the “BECCA Bill”) requires students to attend school. If a student does not attend school, the law requires the school district to take steps for students enrolled in school. For preschool aged students, once a child is enrolled as a student they are expected to attend. Birthdays/Celebrations/Holidays Please communicate with the classroom teacher about all celebrations. Year-to-year celebrations may change due to the fact that our community of children varies each year. All food that comes into schools for birthdays/celebrations must be store-bought. Please make sure with the teacher that there are no allergies before purchasing treats. 5 Bullying/Harassment We recognize that bullying can happen anywhere despite education and prevention efforts. We ask you to partner with us to address bullying and to ensure that our schools are safe and positive places of growing and learning for all students. “Harassment, intimidation or bullying”, means any intentional electronic, written, verbal, or physical act, including but not limited to those shown to be motivated by race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability or other distinguishing characteristics, when such an act: • Physically or emotionally harms a student or damages the student’s property; or • Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s education; or • Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or • Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.