Describes how special education services are provided.

Service Models

• Push-in: Special educator or therapist provide services through integrated therapy services within the daily schedule.

A range of activities and environments that eliminate the physical, social and instructional barriers to learning (DEC, NAEYC 2009).

Universal Design for Learning

• Flexible instructional approaches that guide developing instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessment for all learners provide multiple ways to engage children, present information and determine learning (CAST 2011).

Assistive Technology

• Any piece of equipment, or product system, acquired commercially, modified, or customized, used to maintain, increase, or improve functional capabilities of persons with disabilities, except medical devices surgically implanted. (IDEA 2004).

Adaptations

• Planned interventions/modifications to ongoing classroom activity or materials to maximize children's participation.

Intentional multi-tiered instructional strategies that increase a child's engagement, participation and learning (DEC, NAEYC 2009).

Embedded Instruction

• Strategies that address individual learning goals within the context of ongoing routines, activities and transitions.

Scaffolding

• Used with children who require more intensive supports by providing targeted approaches to move children progressively toward skill development, e.g. modeling, response prompting, corrective feedback, peer supports.

*Tiered Levels of Instruction

• An approach to provide adult instructional supports that requires screening and ongoing assessment to determine impact of teaching/learning and adjustment of instruction.
  • This corporation uses the High Scope COR, a research based curriculum.

*Membership

• The intentional social supports/teaching that creates a classroom community of belonging for each child and facilitates positive relationships of respect, acceptance and friendship.
  • Teachers in this corporation embed social-emotional skill building into small group lessons and use visuals to help children connect their feeling to pictures and learn to identify their feelings, the why of the feeling and strategies to feel better or calm down. Teaching how to use a designated calm down area is part social-emotional skill building.

Strategies in place that including professional development, opportunities for collaboration and communication among families and practitioners to support high quality inclusion (DEC, NAYEC 2009).

Professional Development

• Teaching and learning activities that support inclusion and facilitate acquisition and application of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions (NPDCI, 2011).

*Models of Collaboration

• Approaches to support ongoing communication and collaboration include technical assistance, consultation, coaching, mentoring, collaborative problem-solving, and communities of practice/professional learning communities (NPDCI, 2011).
  • This corporation utilizes a daily planning time where the general education teacher and para educator have 30 minutes/day to review the details the day's routines and activities. Weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLC) with preschool staff including the director, lead teachers, and therapists to discuss a variety of topics: inclusion, being assertive, book study, community, how to read an IEP.

Family-Staff Partnership

• Opportunities for relationship building between families and practitioners support the achievement of mutually agreed upon goals (NPDCI, 2011).