Early Childhood Screening

COVID-19 and Early Childhood Screening

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and school closure, it is not possible to conduct our early childhood screening procedures. For this reason, we are readjusting how we will evaluate and admit early childhood students for the 2020-2021 school year. AISL’s Admissions Committee will review your child’s completed application, including school reports and teacher recommendations to make admissions decisions.

It is very important for us to get to know our prospective students through their parents. For this reason, once we receive your child's application, we will provide a questionnaire for you to complete about your child.

Students who are admitted will receive a conditional offer of admission. The offer will be reviewed during the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year. This will allow our teachers to get to know your children and ensure that they have the resources for your child to be successful at AISL. This includes your child’s ability to:

• Use the toilet independently and physically participate in the program
• Separate from parents at the beginning of the school day
• Play and interact positively with other adults and children
• Follow safety rules, such as staying in supervised areas and not hurting others
• Access the early childhood curriculum with limited support

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When the application of a child who is applying for AISL's early childhood program is complete, the child will be invited to come in for screening:

The preschool and pre-kindergarten screening is a brief assessment of a child’s development, usually lasting twenty minutes.

Why is the screening conducted?

The purpose of screening is to identify children who may have significant learning problems. The screening assessment we have chosen is not an intelligence or readiness test. Readiness tests tend to focus on skills acquisition, such as naming alphabet letters, recognizing letters, recognizing numerals, name writing, knowing body parts, etc. We do not believe that children should have mastered a particular set of skills to be considered “ready” to attend school. Rather, we believe that each child brings a unique set of prior learning to school, and that our responsibility is to plan a program that meets the varying needs of each child.

Who will conduct the screening?

The screening team consists of faculty members from AISL's Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten programs.

How will I know if my child has been accepted?

Parents of children who are evaluated in the expected range will receive an email from the Director of Admissions:

1) Welcoming their child to AISL with the request to confirm acceptance of the offer of admission

2) Advising them that the screening was successful and their child will be offered a seat as soon as one becomes available

Toilet Trained

Students entering Preschool and Pre-kindergarten at AISL must be toilet-trained prior to the first day of school in August. This means that children are able to self-regulate when they need to use the toilet and to clean up after themselves.

Children who do not meet the entrance criteria may remain on the student waiting list and re-apply for the following semester or school year. The screening results will be placed in the child’s cumulative file at AISL.