The Office of Early Childhood
We understand the importance of your child’s first learning experiences at school. Families are their child’s first teachers and our programs aim to build upon the prior knowledge they bring to the classroom environment. In order to support the development of foundational skills across all domains of learning, we individualize instruction for each child.
Our classrooms provide highly specialized support and learning experiences with a focus on structured play, social-emotional development, and academic instruction. Play is a critical part of growth and development for early learners. Across our classrooms children are actively engaged when provided with the opportunities to explore, discover, investigate, and use tools/materials in creative ways. Teachers are encouraged to use play-based instruction in alignment with curriculum and research-based strategies across all subject areas. Our programs understand the unique needs of each learner and design instruction to support additional developmental skills such as language, communication, and cognition.
The Office of Early Childhood is committed to providing optimal learning opportunities for our youngest learners (Prekindergarten through 2nd Grade) as we prepare them for their future. Our office works directly with schools across the district in the following ways:
- Help teachers create and design learning environments that foster academic growth, social-emotional awareness, and independence.
- Teach and model effective instructional strategies that support developmental and academic growth.
- Support schools with analyzing data, assessments, planning, and adapting curriculum across all subject areas.
- Offer school-based staff a variety of professional learning opportunities.
- Please click the link below for more Early Childhood resources:
- Turning Five Information
- Early Learning Guidelines
- Transitioning from Early Intervention to Preschool
- Committee on Preschool Special Education ( CPSE)
- Early Childhood Literacy Resources
- Learning Through Play