[Winona Online Democracy] I appreciate Cherisa's comments regarding the importance of keeping the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) programs together in one location. Keeping the early child programs was one of the main criteria followed by the Lincoln Program Relocation Committee because of the huge benefit that keeping those programs together holds for children and families.
The sharing of equipment and space is just one of the many benefits realized by residents of the school district as a result of keeping ECFE and Lincoln Community Pre-school in the same location. Lincoln Community Pre-school is a mutually beneficial partnership between Community Education and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and the ECSE Birth to Three programs. But an even bigger benefit of keeping these programs in the same location is the seamless system of program delivery that this arrangement provides for families, parents and children. The eloquent and authentic comments made at Tuesday's school-board meeting by the parent of an autistic child makes unquestionably clear how important it is to house these three programs together. That parent was not aware of the ECSE Birth to Three services until the ECFE staff helped connect the family with services that are on-site at Lincoln School. As a result of the programs being located together, his child is now enrolled in the Lincoln preschool and is receiving services from the ECSE Birth to Three program. Having those programs located together in Lincoln School resulted in a quick and effective referral that allowed the child and the family to become aware of and to make use of the services that were available. That brings to mind a remark made by Jennifer Breitlow in her minority report at Tuesday night's school board meeting. Ms. Breitlow said that she was unaware of any referrals or connections that may be occurring between ECFE and ECSE. I was pleased to hear that--because it means that a seamless delivery of service is happening, whether it's obvious or even visible, even to an insider such as Ms. Breitlow. In fact, an ECSE teacher told me, in response to Ms. Breitlow's remarks, that the teacher has on more than one occasion been in an ECFE classroom and had parents assume that she is an ECFE teacher or perhaps another parent--but no one has known that she works as a special-education teacher for preschoolers. Yet she is there to provide therapy to a child participating in the ECFE program. Every spring, as a routine part of this teacher's work, she encourages parents of children with special needs to participate in ECFE classes with children who do not have special needs. This is done as part of the transition of having special-needs children enrolled in the preschool in the fall. This is a great benefit not only to the child, but also to the parents of special-needs children, who often have little opportunity to share with other parents the joys and concerns of parenting. But the benefits of the current arrangement at Lincoln School don't end with good things for children and families. There are also efficiencies in staffing--and that translates into financial benefits for taxpayers. Specifically, the ECFE coordinator also administers not only ECFE, but the preschool program as well. Besides that, ECFE and Lincoln preschool share a secretary. Yet another benefit is that paraprofessionals from ECFE and ESCE substitute for each other in the ECFE classroom and the preschool classroom when necessary. Splitting up these programs would eliminate those efficiencies and the savings they provide taxpayers. The factors listed here are the reasons why every member of the Lincoln Program Relocation Committee--every member except Ms. Breitlow, that is--supports keeping these programs together. Margaret M. Schild, Director Community Education Winona Area Public Schools (507) 494-0900 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
