Blended Prekindergarten / Blended Prekindergarten

Blended Prekindergarten

Welcome to Preschool

“Where the Focus is on the Child"

Concord Elementary School’s Preschool is a five-day a week, morning or afternoon half-day program that offers services for all children ages three to five years old. The blended model includes “At-Risk,” Special Education and tuition-based students. If needed, bus transportation is provided at no charge.

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. A primary goal is to reinforce a child's natural love of learning. The blended curriculum is experiential and play-based. It is organized around a multidisciplinary, thematic curricular model. The educational disciplines of Language and Literacy, Math, Perception, Motor Development, Music, Art, Science and Social Science are therefore integrated within each theme.

Some children need their learning environment adapted in order to derive the greatest impact on learning. Thematic, integrated organization provides additional contextual meanings to assist the child with application and generalization of knowledge and skills, thereby promoting social and emotional development in a natural, nurturing atmosphere. Families are valued and are viewed as an integral part of the educational team in the Blended Prekindergarten Program.

Tuition-Based Eligibility

The Prekindergarten Tuition-based Program serves residents of Cass School District 63 with children between the ages of three to five years old, who are progressing at an expected rate for their age. Parents pay monthly tuition in advance to cover the costs of the program. Children are provided a wide range of comprehensive developmental activities, which are age-appropriate.
Special Education Eligibility

The Prekindergarten Special Education program provides individualized services for children who are delayed in one or more areas of development. To qualify for this program, a child must be between the ages of three to five years old and through a formal Special Education assessment be identified with at least one federally defined Special Education disability. An experienced team of professionals will work with families to develop a Special Education Individualized Education Plan, with specific goals and objectives to address identified Special Education needs.
At-Risk Eligibility
Placement in Cass School District 63's "At-Risk” program, a child must be between the ages of three and five years old and exhibit at-risk characteristics as defined by the State. 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/or visual discrimination.
- The child comes from a limited or non-English speaking environment.
- The child that has multiple risk factors, as well as families whose income level is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level
- 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.
Prekindergarten Screening

A free developmental screening is a service provided for all prekindergarten children between the ages of three and five who are residents of Cass School District 63. Screenings are provided in September and March. Each screening session takes approximately one hour to conduct. The screening program led by a team of school professionals will include vision and hearing, speech, language development, social interaction, fine and large motor coordination and written feedback from the parents.

All parents of children three to five years of age are encouraged to take advantage of this screening service. Parents will have an opportunity to meet and consult with school personnel during the screening. If there are any significant concerns, one of the screening team members will contact the parent by phone prior to the results being mailed.

If you have any questions, please contact the conord front office.
Parent Volunteering Opportunities
Home Visits: Home visits are made to each student’s home when they begin the program. These short visits (usually 20 to 30 minutes) are simply a time for the teachers to get to know each child better in a comfortable and secure setting outside of school. If scheduling a visit in your home is difficult, the teachers will be happy to make other arrangements.

Classroom Visits: Parents are always welcome to visit, observe, and participate in the classroom on an informal basis. Please contact the teacher if you wish to do so. Formal Parent Visitation Days are also scheduled during the school year.

Family Learning Days: "Family Learning" days are special events planned for preschool students and their families. Family field trips, guest speakers and performers, science experiments, and make-it/take-it workshops, are a few of the fun days that will be conducted throughout the year.

Field Trips: Parent volunteers to assist in offsite learning opportunities that extend the curriculum and learning in our classrooms.

Birthdays: Each parent is asked to come in on their child’s birthday and volunteer to help create a craft project in the preschool classroom.

Parents as Partners: This is a volunteer program intended to foster parent participation in our preschool classroom by inviting parents to participate with their child on a classroom project.

Parent Programming: The teachers believe that parents play a critical role in their children’s education. Evidence supports a positive relationship between parent involvement in education and student academic achievement, attitudes, and aspirations. The Parent Facilitator works to provide positive opportunities for parent involvement in a variety of ways:
- Parent educational workshops,
- Family Learning days,
- home and in-class visits,
- newsletters and educational mailings and
- parent/child "homework" activities.