The Harlem School District's Early Childhood Program  provides integrated support services provided by a speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, and English Language Teachers.

Special Education

The Harlem School District provides students with Special Education eligibility a continuum of services and placement based on each student’s individual education plan (IEP).  Students with Special Education eligibility receive the support and specialized instruction that is stated in the student’s IEP in order to provide the student a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). 

Our EC Special Education teachers are Kristen Keith (Maple Elementary School) Jodi Graber (Donald C. Parker Early Education Center) and Diana Newberry (Maple & Parker Center).

English Language Learners (ELL) Program

The philosophy of the Harlem School District is for all of our students to develop high levels of English proficiency, while maintaining, and whenever possible enhancing their linguistic diversity.  We will support our students to maintain their first language as they develop skills in English.  We will develop a comprehensive model to address the short and long term academic programming goals of our English learners. 

Our English as a Second Language Teachers are Kim Zaphel (Donald C. Parker Early Education Center and Bogumila Kaczmarczyk ( Maple Elementary School)

Speech and Language Services

Preschool children, three to five years of age, who may experience difficulty communicating or difficulty being understood due to unintelligible speech are served by a speech-language pathologist. Speech therapy is individualized and outcome based.   Communication skills are a key to success in school.  Listening and speaking provide the foundation for reading and writing.  The goal of speech therapy for preschool children is to increase intelligibility and reduce frustration when communicating, as well as improve the child’s receptive and expressive language skills.  

A variety of material and techniques are used during therapy and can be demonstrated to families to increase carryover. We feel it is important to include families and teachers as partners in this journey to developing life-long communication skills. Once a child qualifies for speech therapy services, their IEP goals will be targeted using a team approach. The speech language pathologist, classroom teacher, student, and family will all work together to develop the child’s speech and language to their fullest potential. Our goal is to foster communication independence by using the strategies that we work on during therapy sessions. 

As the ultimate goal of speech therapy is functional communication, the use of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) may also be used to facilitate language in children. Your speech-language pathologist will work with you, the parent/guardian, to determine the best mode of communication based off the child’s IEP goals and individual needs.

Our Speech Pathologists are Haley Hill, and Stephanie Boudreaux (Donald C. Parker Early Education Center), and Amanda Hartman  (Maple Elementary School).

Social Emotional Support Services

School Social Workers are trained mental health professionals with a Master's degree in social work who provide services related to a student's social/emotional needs. School Social Workers are the link between the home, school and community in providing direct as well as indirect services to students, families and school personnel to promote and support students' academic and social success.

What are some specific services a School Social Worker can provide?

• • Work with families to remove barriers preventing consistent attendance

  • Provide individual or group counseling to address issues that affect the student's adjustment in school

  • Assist parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources

  • Provide crisis intervention

  • Assist in developing behavioral intervention strategies

  • Develop intervention strategies to increase academic success

  • Help children to develop appropriate social interaction skills and coping skills

  • Work with parents to facilitate their support in their child's school adjustment

  • Provide direct support to staff

Laurie Jaeger (Donald C. Parker Early Education Center) Kristen Koehler (Maple Elementary School)

School Health Services

School Nurses are available to work  with families, students, teachers and administrators to ensure quality individualized and responsive health services are provided to students.   Our School Nurses are:  Karen Perry and Sandra Keckler (Donald C Parker Early Education Center) and Susan Currens (Maple Elementary School).