The purpose of the Mehlville Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Preschool Program is to provide special education and related services for students ages 3-5 who meet eligibility criteria in the state of Missouri. The ECSE program is funded by both a Missouri State grant for Special Education and Federal Funds, and ECSE staff members are employed by Mehlville School District. The ECSE program is an inclusive program where a set number of tuition-based students attend as peer models.

Early childhood staff will have students in-person on Monday-Thursday weekly. Teachers will use Fridays for Special Education meetings and professional development.

Safety and Wellness

• Staff Members:

  • • The Mehlville School District has purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Mehlville employees to be able to wear during times when they are at school. This includes face coverings and face shields; gloves and gowns may also be worn when assisting students in the restroom. Additionally, plexiglass barriers have been installed at various points in the building, signage has been posted within the building to practice social distancing and staff are to review the screening questions related to their own personal health on a daily basis. Staff may wear additional PPE as they feel necessary.

    • All early childhood staff and parents will follow the early childhood safety procedures. This document covers the following:

      • arrival and dismissal procedures

      • additional social distancing measures and sanitation

      • materials that may need to be taken home in the event of a shutdown

      • traffic flow inside buildings

      • hand washing schedules

      • use of playgrounds and gyms

      • status of visitors during the school day

• Students - At this time, students under the age of 5 are not required to wear masks but highly encouraged to do so. Students will be washing/sanitizing hands regularly during the day, including before and after snack time, before and after center time as well as playground/gym time. Parents should review the health screening questions to assess their child's daily wellbeing.

• District Safety Procedures

• Contact Tracing Information

Communication and Academic Content Delivery

Early childhood staff will:

• provide instruction and services at school

• use Google Meet for synchronous online instruction for those families that choose the virtual ECSE option

• utilize the Early Childhood Google Site to post information and activities

• communicate frequently with parents using district email, phone calls, and/or SeeSaw

• utilize interpreters for families that need them

Parents/guardians along with their child will:

• get a good night's sleep each night

• come ready to learn

• follow the health screening questions prior to sending their child to school

• communicate with the child's teacher as appropriate

Student Feedback

• Early childhood staff will:

  • • • continue to utilize standards-based grading. To learn more about this type of grading system, click here. To view the power standards and rubrics, go to the district website which is linked here.

      • provide feedback to students informally and formally

      • collect assessment data by power standards

• Teachers will report progress on power standards at the end of each term. If a teacher does not have sufficient evidence, they will mark that standard with IE, representing Insufficient Evidence.

• Case managers and therapists will report on IEP progress at the end of each term.

Attendance

• The district encourages daily attendance of students in the early childhood program.

• Please plan to arrive 10 minutes early in the pick-up/drop-off line. Students will be assisted by staff members to exit/enter their vehicle. Parents must stand by their vehicle to unbuckle and buckle their child into their car seat. Parents are not to enter the school buildings.

• For those students accessing the virtual Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) program, teachers will NOT be taking attendance in our student information platform (SIS). Students will not be required to have their camera on during a Meet. Concerns with students who are not consistently present should be discussed with the Dr. Westbrook.

Resources

• Early Childhood Power Standards and Rubrics

• For those families in the virtual ECSE program, Google Meet support can be found on the Family Tech Support page which can also be found by clicking the tab at the top right corner of this site.

• Teaching in Room 9: The Nine Network is producing three hours of literacy, math, science and social studies instruction for prekindergarten through 3rd grades, weekdays from 11:30 am–2:30 pm, free of charge on television. The grade-appropriate instruction, taught by committed local educators at home, ensures all kids in our region have access to quality teaching during the academic year shutdown and into the summer, regardless of access to internet or computers. More information on the schedule and the teachers who are providing instruction can be found here.

• Schools will continue to provide breakfast and lunch, free of charge, to all students through December. This includes days that students are in the building. Click here for information.