Thanks to hundreds of contributors gifting nearly $5.5 million, WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL
to fund our expansion and brighten futures for local children with special needs.
The Children’s Center is an inclusive early childcare and education setting. The childcare rooms embed preschool programming throughout the day. All classrooms focus on development areas like cognitive, language development, communication, fine and large motor, activities of daily living, emotional growth, and sensory play. Children will learn through daily developmentally appropriate opportunities to explore, create, manipulate, and experiment. Progress will be monitored through daily observation and data collection to assure each child’s success.
Each classroom comes equipped with developmentally appropriate materials. The Children’s Center is licensed as a child care facility by the Department of Health and Human Services and is an approved Child Development Services provider (CDS). All children attending the Children’s Center will have access to the fully inclusive and accessible playground funded through our community donors, especially the Shuman family.
Childcare hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Specialized Service hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Seedlings environment offers a first classroom experience for children six weeks to 18 months old. Children’s schedules will be followed as they learn about the world around them. Staff will strengthen family attachments while encouraging children to interact with and trust other adults and children in the classroom. Activities foster strong, healthy bodies, inspire curiosity, enhance effective communication, and promote positive social interactions. The rate for this classroom is $185 a week.
Growing Sprouts allows children who are 18 months to 3 1/2 years old to learn through play and to work on developmental goals set for each child on an individual basis. Goals include social skills (sharing and understanding emotions), cognitive skills (recognizing shapes, colors, and problem-solving), motor skills (running, climbing, cutting, writing), building independence, and developing self-help skills. Sensory play, movement, finger play, and songs are embedded in daily activities. The rate for this classroom is $165 a week.
Bursting Blossoms prepares children ages 3 ½ to 5 for the transition to kindergarten. The curriculum focuses on pre-kindergarten skills as well as continuing work on individual goals. The rate for this classroom is $150 a week.
The Sunflower room offers a structured curriculum that is focused on a child’s individual IEP goals. Services occur in a classroom with a maximum number of 3 children, each assigned to an Education technician. 282 Special Education teachers oversee the program. As appropriate, opportunities are provided for a child to visit in our inclusive classrooms. The Sunflower Room is most commonly used as a transitional placement to another Special Purpose or LRE program.
Busy Bees offers a specialized program with a highly structured curriculum and a higher teacher-to-student ratio than the preschool classrooms. This setting promotes increased independence, positive social skills, extended cognitive skills, and enhanced emotional regulation.
Hummingbirds’ classroom offers a highly structured curriculum and a higher teacher-to-student ratio than the preschool classrooms. This specialized program promotes increased independence, positive social skills, extended cognitive skills, increased opportunities for communication, and enhanced emotional regulation.
Stepping Stones are for children with autism spectrum disorders who are transitioning from home to a specialized setting. Each child works with an individual specialized instructor toward obtaining their goals. This program focuses on increased independence and preparation for a less restrictive environment or transition to public school. Group and individual specialized instruction occur daily.
We reserve this room for 1-2 children at a time. These children have significant behaviors (self-injury/aggression towards others) that prevent them from being around other children. This room’s goal is to decrease these unwanted behaviors while increasing foundational skills and slowly but systematically integrating them back into a classroom with their peers.
Most children in the autism program start in this room. It is considered our “baseline” program. Children in this room have been recently diagnosed, and it is their first experience in a structured setting. In this classroom, we work on foundational skills necessary for development in all areas:
Once children have mastered the foundational skills in Stepping Stones II, they move onto stepping stones III to expand those skills: working on more complex communication, social skills, and functioning in a group. In this classroom, they prepare them for integration into a typically developing classroom before heading off to Kindergarten.
The Children’s Center’s Special Purpose Private School provides special education to children who are not quite ready to transition to public school as recommended by their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team. Our Special Education Administrator and Licensed Master’s Level Clinicians oversee educational technicians within the specialized classrooms in order to meet the goals and objectives outlined in the child’s IEP. The SPPS at the Children’s Center currently provides kindergarten through second grade education.
The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This classroom offers a highly structured curriculum and a higher teacher-to-student ratio than the preschool classrooms. This specialized program promotes increased independence, positive social skills, extended cognitive skills, increased opportunities for communication, and enhanced emotional regulation.
The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This early intervention program has a highly structured curriculum with embedded preschool programming throughout the day. The model has a high teacher-to-student ratio. Children can access adult supports to participate functionally within their preschool setting.
Individual specialized instructors will work with each child towards obtaining their personal goals. The individual specialized instructors use the principles of developmental psychology and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Play-based, relationship-focused routines provide the context in which research-based techniques serve to foster learning and growth.
This early intervention program has a highly structured curriculum with embedded preschool programming throughout the day. The model has a high teacher-to-student ratio. Children can access adult supports to participate functionally within their preschool setting.
Individual specialized instructors will work with each child towards obtaining their personal goals. They will monitor progress through daily observation and data collection to ensure each child’s success. Children will also participate in on-going skills assessment and measurement of goals and objectives.
The early intervention program will provide children with the opportunity to experience a structure similar to public school. The setting promotes increased independence, positive social skills, extended cognitive skills, and enhanced emotional regulation. The program focuses on increased independence to prepare children for a less restrictive environment and transition to kindergarten in the public school setting. Referrals may be directed to the Intake Coordinator at the Children’s Center at 207-626-3497.
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