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Check this out for a little fun:
STARFALL
Educational resource links:
We have these materials available to
borrow!
Love and Learning
Signing Times
Handwriting Without Tears
Out of the Box Early Reading |
EDUCATION HOMEPAGE
At about two and a half years old your child will begin the
transition from the Early Steps Program to services provided by the
School District of Palm Beach County. Early intervention for children with disabilities in PBC
is provided from birth to 3
(Part C) by the Early Steps Program, 561-881-2822. See the
Birth to Three
page for more information about these services. The IDEA (Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act), reauthorized in 2004, provides
that children with disabilities will be served from birth
through 21 years old. The Local Education Agency from age 3 through
a students' 22nd birthday is the Exceptional Student
Education (ESE) department. The child moves from an FSP, Family Support Plan to an IEP,
Individualized Education Plan.
Gold Coast provides
an annual training opportunity to all parents whose children will be
transitioning to preschool or kindergarten. The trainer
discusses the differences between services in Early Steps, preschool,
and kindergarten, the IEP process, what to expect, and how to
prepare. Although the PBC School District provides a special education preschool
option for children with disabilities as of a child's 3rd birthday, it is not mandatory that children
with disabilities attend. The IEP is
developed through a school/home partnership and contains a
child's present levels of performance and annual goals to
achieve both academic and social success. Moving from Early Steps into the
ESE system is exciting for many of our preschoolers, but
challenging for families as "services" are viewed from a
different perspective. For more information, see
the links below.
For information about the law, go to
Wrightslaw.
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 We know that Individuals with Down syndrome are life long learners.
When planning for our child's education, it is important to stay
focused on outcomes, the end result of an education, which
should be an active and valued life in the community upon exit
from school. Always remember that parents and
professionals may not have the same vision for a child's future.
As a mother or father, you know your child best and must insist
on your ideas for goals being included in the IEP. There
is often discussion after a child's 5th birthday about whether
or not they are "ready" for kindergarten.
Children in Florida do not have to enter kindergarten until age
six. Many families feel that remaining in preschool for an extra year
better prepares their children for the kindergarten experience. They are
developmentally more mature and may have an advantage, especially if they are to
attend kindergarten alongside their peers without disabilities, the practice
called inclusion. Other
families whose children will be "included" in a general education kindergarten
class will move their child onto kindergarten, keeping in mind that retention in
kindergarten may give them that same developmental opportunity.
Your child may or may not attend an ESE preschool in the school they will
attend for kindergarten. There are a limited number of preschool programs
throughout the school district and your child should attend the preschool program
closest to your home that has the program appropriate for meeting your child's IEP goals. There are half-day and full-day programs depending on your
child's individual needs. Many programs are speech/language models which
are often appropriate placements for children with Down syndrome. Almost
all of the preschool programs provided by the school district serve only children with disabilities.
More and more families are choosing to send their children to preschool or
daycare programs with typical children. As we await the full
implementation of the Universal Pre-K Amendment, there should
be opportunities for all of our children with Down syndrome, aged 4, to attend
preschool programs with typical children while receiving the needed supports
from ESE. High expectations along with positive speech/language and
social/behavior role models impact many of our children who are great imitators.
The I.E.P. document,
developed through a partnership between school and home, contains a
child's present level of performance and goals that they should be working on to
achieve both academic and social success. Your child will have an I.E.P.
as long as they are receiving special education services from the ESE Department
of the
Palm Beach County School
District. Your child has the right to go to school and the right to
have a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). For
information about the law, check out
Wrightslaw.
The law provides that your child
be educated in what is known as LRE, or
the Least Restrictive Environment. It is stated in the law as follows: "Each public agency shall ensure---
1. That to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including
children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are
educated with children who are nondisabled; and 2. That special classes,
separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the
regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the
disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of
supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily."
 Frank attends regular classes, with a modified curriculum, such as
Consumer Math, English, Creative Writing and Spanish at his local
high school. He has received special education in speech and language, reading,
and math.
The LRE for most children should be the
general education classroom with
supplementary aids and services. This is commonly known as INCLUSION.
You may have heard the term mainstreaming. While inclusion educates
children in the mainstream (where the kids without disabilities are), inclusion
and mainstreaming are not the same thing. In mainstreaming, children with
disabilities are a part of a special education class and earn their way into the
mainstream. They are usually invited to join music, art and physical
education and
therefore may be seen as visitors. Children who are "included" are part of
a general education class. They belong in the general education class.
Their name is on the roster for that class and they
may receive their special education services in that classroom. If they
receive any services out of the general education class, such as in a resource room, they return to that class.
(TIP to parents: It is very important to remember that when Congress
passed PL 94-142 they did not intend for Special Education to become a place as
it has today. Special education is a service that should be delivered in
the Least Restrictive Environment.) Check out the websites below for
more information.
After elementary school, your child will transition to middle school and then
high school. In general, children should attend the same school they would
attend if they did not have Down syndrome, unless you as their parent choose a
different school. An example would be a magnet program specializing in
something that interests your child such as culinary arts or auto mechanics.
All schools in Palm Beach
County have ESE teachers and Speech Language Pathologists. Special education
services should be delivered at a child's home school unless the nature of the
disability is such to require a special type of placement. Regardless of
disability, we all send our
children to school to learn. You should be able to measure your child's
progress, every twelve weeks for elementary and quarterly for secondary, by the progress reports that are sent home from school.
You should review your child's IEP often. If your child is not making
progress you should immediately address it. You are an equal partner in
the educational process. This means making IEP decisions as a part of the
team, as well as doing your part at home to ensure your child's success at
school.
To be your child's best advocate and develop an individualized educational
program where your child truly learns and thrives, you need to know about your
rights and the I.E.P. process. You should begin attending local trainings
about the time your child is 18 months old. For more information, please
contact our office directly.
Other educational links:
NICHCY
United States
Department of Special Education
Kids
Together
Florida
Inclusion Network
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