Early Childhood
Evergreen Park School District 124 offers Early Childhood classrooms to eligible students ages 3-5-years-old who reside in Evergreen Park. Early Childhood classrooms are special education classrooms designed to provide specialized instruction and support for children with disabilities who may have a variety of educational and developmental needs.
Placement within the Early Childhood program and services are determined through the development of a child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Integrated services may include speech and language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social emotional, and/or behavioral support. The goals of the program are to develop a student's communication, self-help, social-emotional, and executive functioning skills to increase independence and academic pre-readiness skills.
Eligibility
Any family interested in the Early Childhood program is required to complete the online enrollment process prior to beginning. Children are eligible for these programs after participation in the district screening, diagnostic testing and/or the review and acceptance of the Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) by the D124 Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team.
Program Model
Early Childhood classrooms are structured in two ways, center-based learning or highly structured. Both classrooms focus on meeting the individual needs of each student as measured by their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals and objectives.
A childhood classroom is designed for students with more significant communication, socialization, or executive functioning needs. This classroom utilizes the following research-based methodologies: Applied Behavior Analysis, Functional Behavioral Analysis, and Structured Teaching. Students in this classroom typically require more 1:1 support in developing attending skills, transitioning between activities, imitating, and following directions. Both classrooms include multiage grouping, a teacher and a paraprofessional, and have a maximum of ten students.
Curriculum
The Creative Curriculum and/or Unique Learning System are used in the Early Childhood Classrooms. Creative Curriculum emphasizes a play-based model. The instruction is individualized, scaffolded, and aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards. The curriculum is embedded into play-based learning centers, and individual and small group instruction, and revolves around monthly themes. The curriculum covers the development in the following domains: Social/Emotional, Physical, Cognitive, and Language. The Unique Learning System is an online, interactive, standards-based curriculum specifically designed for students with special needs. The materials and lessons are modified according to the student’s current level of progress. The Unique Learning System has visuals built into lessons and allows students multiple ways to interact with content, including text to speech, drag, and drop, auditory-visual cues, and more.
Early Childhood in EP
Locations
- Northeast Elementary School
- Northwest Elementary School
Preschool Days and Times
- The morning session meets Monday through Friday from 8:15-11:00 a.m.
- The afternoon session meets Monday through Friday from 12:15-2:50 p.m.
For more information on the program, please call the Student Support Services Department at (708) 423-0950 ext. 2140 or email Jean Hector
Additional Resources
Early Intervention Extended Services- English