Agenda - 05-19-20; 8-a - Minutes

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17 1 • 2019-2020 Kindergarten enrollment 837 students 2 • 509 (61%) families indicated their children attended some type of Pre-K 3 • 129 Pre-K students exited a CHCCS Pre-K at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. 4 5 6 The Orange County Schools' Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Programs 7 8 There are three types of Pre-K classrooms in Orange County Schools: 9 1. Title 1 Blended Pre-K 10 2. Exceptional Children(EC) Pre-K; and, 11 3. Head Start 12 13 Title I Blended Pre-K Classrooms 14 The OCS Title I Blended Pre-Kindergarten Program provides a child-centered, developmentally 15 appropriate educational experience for four-year-old children in need of developmental, 16 academic and emotional/social support. The program stresses an environment that motivates 17 learning through exploration and discovery. The goal of the program is to prepare children to 18 enter kindergarten ready and excited to learn and succeed. The design of our program is to 19 support children with the greatest need, so that they will be emotionally and socially ready to be 20 active participants in their own learning. An application process is used to determine which 21 children will benefit most from the kinds of developmental experiences we offer in our preschool 22 classrooms. 23 24 Our program is grounded in the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 25 philosophy of developmentally appropriate practices (NAEYC). Classrooms are child centered 26 and designed to promote the development of the whole child, including all developmental 27 domains described in Foundations,North Carolina's early learning standards (approaches to 28 learning, emotional and social development, health and physical development, language 29 development and communication, and cognitive development). Learning experiences are 30 meaningful and relevant for every child and reflect his or her developmental, cultural, and 31 individual circumstances. Our curricula also emphasize the areas of self-regulation and emotional 32 awareness, early literacy and math skill building. 33 34 Every effort is to ensure that each child feels welcome at school and is helped to develop a strong 35 sense of self as a successful learner. The indoor and outdoor classroom experiences include many 36 opportunities for hands-on active learning with real materials and nature. The students spend 37 time each day working in several learning centers, including science, math, writing center, 38 reading corner, block play, manipulatives, dramatic play, sensory play, the safe place, where they 39 make choices and use materials in creative and thought-provoking ways. 40 41 Our Title 1 Blended Pre-K classrooms are inclusive, serving children, ages 3-5 years, who 42 receive special education services. Placement is determined by need of services indicated on the 43 Individualized Education Plan(IEP)by the OCS IEP Team. Our classrooms offer opportunities 44 for children of all abilities to play and learn together. We believe that adaptations that make an 45 experience accessible for children with learning barriers can enhance other children's