Greeley Preschool

Information

Greeley Preschool is an early childhood special education preschool that serves students with delays in two or more developmental areas (social-emotional, adaptive, cognitive, motor (fine & gross), communication/language); we also serve a small number of peer models (peer models are children that are considered typically developing for their age; note about peer models at the bottom of this page). If you, or your physician, are concerned about your child’s development, you should contact the school to schedule a developmental screening for your child. Screenings are a time for your child to join us in the classroom so we (the preschool team) can observe and interact with them; we look for how your child separates from you (you will wait in another area of the school during the screening), interacts with other children and adults, how they follow simple directions, and how they answer simple questions or complete simple tasks. Screenings are play-based (usually considered fun and relaxed!) and can be completed in two different ways: 

1...Near the end of each school year: During our annual Preschool Screening day (this date varies). If you schedule an appointment for a screening on this screening day, your child will be brought to the school to be screened with other children that are also being screened. This usually takes about an hour.

2...During the school year: Your child can be screened at any time during the school year. If, after screening, our professional preschool team believes your child needs special education services, we will provide you with the next steps (see below) to begin the process of meeting your child’s individual developmental needs. When a child is screened on a school day, parents bring their child to Greeley Elementary at their scheduled appointment time where your child will become part of our classroom for about an hour. They will interact with our other students and be prompted to move through our schedule with us as we play, interact, and learn. 

Next Steps 

After screening: If your child is identified as possibly having delays in at least two developmental areas (social, adaptive, cognitive, pre-academic, communication), we will ask that your child becomes a “temporary student” in our classroom while we complete a more thorough evaluation of your child’s individual strengths and needs. If, after the evaluation is completed and we determine that your child is developmentally delayed in two or more areas, we will have a meeting together, called an Individualized Education Program/Plan (IEP) Meeting. The IEP is a document that helps us focus on the specific skill areas your child shows delays in and keeps everyone on the same page with what your child’s goals are. Once your child is on an IEP for special education services, we will review the IEP (have a meeting) at least one time per year to make any changes/updates to it; these meeting ensure that you have a voice in your child’s education and supports your child in making measureable progress in the areas they are delayed in. Note: If at some point in the future, your child no longer needs/qualifies for specialized services, we would exit them from special education and they would no longer have an IEP, but if they do need continued specialized support throughout their school years, they would continue to have an IEP until they no longer need it or they graduate from high school. 

PEER MODELS: If your child is screened and is found to be a “typically” developing child, we may ask that you allow your child to join our classroom as a peer model. Some of our students with special needs really benefit from interacting with other children of the same age that can model appropriate behaviors and friendships. Note: Peer models do not need to be “perfect” children! ;)  Students that join our classroom as peer models are only a part of our classroom for ONE SCHOOL YEAR; then they either transition to kindergarten or find another preschool program to join the following year. 

If you would like to schedule a Developmental Screening for your child, please call Lori Rockers (school secretary) at (785) 867-3460. If you have any questions about Greeley Preschool or Developmental Screenings you can email me, Amanda Tkaczyk (Miss Amanda): atkaczyk@usd365.org