Preschool Inclusion in a Public School System

Slide 1:Preschool Inclusion in a Public School System

A Road Less Traveled, But Worth Every Bump!

Slide 2:Granite School District

Set in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah 70,000 students Pre-K through 12 Ranks as one of the nations 40 largest school districts 20.5% Hispanic 3.4% Pacific Islander 3.3% Asian 1.7% African American 1.2% American Indian 69.9% Caucasian

Slide 3:Granite Preschool History

Preschool happening – but not together! Long standing district sponsored parent co-op preschool for 3 and 4 year olds. Hit and miss Title 1 funded preschool at some but not all Title 1 schools – no standard for services/curriculum Long standing segregated preschool special education classes Once upon a time – Head Start Grantee

Slide 4:Preschool - THEN

16 self-contained classes in 15 schools 17 Title 1 classes in 16 schools 16 Co-op classes in 14 schools Serving 1800 children Curriculum – teacher made Head Start eligible children received SpEd services only in district preschools Very little collaboration, cooperation, communication between preschools – even those located in the same building Preschool under separate leadership & departments All professional development done separately and sporadic

Slide 5:Granite School DistrictPreschool Options

Community Education Preschool – Parent Co-op – Tuition based Title I Preschool Special Education Preschool Head Start Children’s Center Carmen Pingree School Utah Schools for the Deaf & Blind Even Start High School Applied Technology – Child Development

Slide 6:Timeline for ChangeThe Early Stages

2002 – July-October – gathering information about existing preschools (separate departments within district) October-December – newly formed Leadership Team to discuss future Preschool Department Members: Co-op, Sp Ed, Title 1, Even Start, Applied Technology

Slide 7:Timeline Continued

2003 January – Preschool Advisory Committee formed (included preschool representatives from different departments plus parents – 25 members) February-March- 1)Advisory and Leadership groups met 2) meetings with district level administrators to intro proposed inclusion model 3)focus group meetings held with: School level Title 1 specialists, preschool teachers, related services staff, classroom teaching assistants and principals

Slide 8:Timeline

2003 continued March – Co-op teachers started “anti-inclusion” campaign with parents Parent meeting was held to address concerns Question/Answer sheet developed and sent to all Co-op parents May-June – Advisory Committee and Leadership Team developed proposed plan for the 2003-2004 school year Letters to the school board and newspapers caused much up-roar – board questions the purpose of the “Big Change”

Slide 9:2003-2004…A year of compromise

Preschool Department formed 2 schools to “pilot” inclusive preschools side-by-side with self-contained classes All other schools with multiple classrooms are “encouraged to provide inclusive opportunities” (13 schools identified) Creative Curriculum adopted district wide All professional development will be done as a department – focus on literacy, numeracy and social development Development of department policy/procedure manual Continue to develop the “phase in” plan for inclusion

Slide 10:Enter New Director…

2003 August-October – “pilot” implemented at 2 schools Department struggles to come together – a mix of philosophies, curriculum, education background etc November – New director hired…the pilot and phase in plan gets overhauled December – parent meetings held – all 3 were well attended Principal meetings held to get feedback, input, and ask/answer questions Dialogue with district superintendency – parent and principal meeting outcomes shared/discussed

Slide 11:Parent Meetings

Brief introduction of current preschool programs (Co-op, Title 1 and Special Ed) Brief introduction of laws, regulations, and state rules that govern preschools Brief introduction to proposed plan Open dialogue without judgment…all responses from parents are recorded – the good, the bad and the VERY ugly

Slide 12:School Board Presentation

January 2004 – Closed session with the school board and upper administration. Presentation centered around IDEA statute, regs and state rules regarding LRE and placement. Open meeting with School Board – attended by numerous parents and staff members February Board unanimously supports full inclusion for preschool to begin August 2004

Slide 13:Fast Track to Inclusion District-wide

Multiple meetings with staff to prepare for 2004-05 school year – colorful dialogue with staff – many threats to leave program, fears were revealed, but mostly anticipation and excitement Coordinators worked all summer to ensure that professional development was ready to meet the needs of staff New pay scale was approved – all staff received a raise Work with transportation to get children from 14 schools to 34 schools

Slide 14: Preschool - NOW

Preschool at 38 elementary schools 64 classrooms – 180+ sessions of preschool each week 250 staff members 2500 children served 18 children per session – 3-5 children with disabilities All lead teachers have minimum of CDA- Many with BS or higher Teacher Assistants – number per class dictated by children’s needs Secured increased $$ support from Title 1, Special Education and tuition increase approved

Slide 15:Special Education teachers/consultants assigned to each classroom Related services provided based on children’s needs Head Start eligible children receive all services at Head Start Professional Development each month + special education staff meetings/trainings Teacher resource library Department Coordinators have “gelled” – work together toward a common end – network support Great new department location – together + evaluation center…very visible

Slide 16:1 year under our belt…

Effective communication continues to be a struggle within the department Monthly Professional Development was successful – “Share Fair” was very popular Those who were the loudest doubters have become die hard supporters…and very vocal about it! Year end “Celebration of Our Successes” was very emotional – so many stories to share

Slide 17:Questions still surround roles of each staff “team” member – a bit of the “turf wars” Zero parent complaints received by Board of Education – a first for preschool! District support is more evident – transportation, upper administration, human resources, buildings/boundaries… Word is getting around…we have had the largest number of high quality applicants in preschool history!

Slide 18:What’s Next?

Continue to improve communication within the department Continue monthly professional development – staff have now identified areas of needed training/information Look forward to preschool classrooms in each elementary – all children would then attend their neighborhood school CELEBRATE our SUCCESSES, LEARN from our CHALLENGES!

Slide 19:Need More Information?

brenda.broadbent@granite.k12.ut.us maryann.fetzer@granite.k12.ut.us Granite School District Preschool Services Department 2500 South State Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 801-646-4670