Welcome to Concord School's Blended Preschool

Concord's Preschool program has a place for all children ages 3-5.  Our current program is a blended model that includes, at-risk, special education, and tuition based students.

Below is a description of our Blended Program:

At-Risk Eligibility

The at-risk program serves preschool children through an Illinois State Board of Education grant. Enrollment is based on results of a Preschool Screening.  In order to qualify for placement in Cass District 63's "at-risk program," children must be between the ages of 3-5 and exhibit at-risk characteristics.

Eligibility is based on the following

• Delays in one or more of the following areas: speech and language; vocabulary; cognitive development; language development; fine motor; gross motor; and visual discrimination.
• The child comes from a limited or non-English speaking environment.
• The child exhibits social/behavioral skills that interfere with positive peer and/or family interactions as recorded in parent interview and professional observations.
• The child exhibits a medically fragile condition as indicated by parent interview and professional observations and/or official documentation.
• This placement differs from the Early Childhood Special Education Program which services children with an identified learning disability.  

The ECSE program provides individualized services for children who are delayed in one or more areas of development. An experienced team of professionals works with families and children to develop an Individualized Education Plan.

District 63 Parent Paid (Tuition) Option

The Cass District 63 Parent Paid Preschool Program serves children ages 3 to 5 who are progressing at a rate typical for their age.  Parents pay monthly fees to cover the costs of the program. Children are provided a wide range of developmental activities appropriate for their age.

Philosophy and Curriculum

Children learn through play. Play is the child's vehicle for interaction with the environment and for construction of knowledge. It integrates all areas of the child's development. The blended program is designed for children who need support in any of the major areas of development: language, cognition, gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional, and perception. Our aim is to reinforce a child's natural love of learning. The blended curriculum is experiential and play-based. It is organized around a multi-disciplinary, thematic curricular model. The educational disciplines of language and literacy, math, perception, motor development, music, art, science, and social science are therefore integrated within a theme's activities and are not delineated as specific topics of isolated activities.