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Featured Items—2017
Pyramid Equity Project—January 2017 Update
Pyramid Equity Project (PEP) is working in partnership with two Preschool Development Grant programs: Clifton Early Learner Academy in Clifton, New Jersey and Cambridge Early Learning Center in Antioch, Tennessee to implement the Pyramid Model to address inequities in early childhood discipline practices. Specifically the project is implementing the program-wide use of effective practices and procedures for promoting the social and emotional skills of all children, preventing challenging behavior of children at risk of challenging behavior, and providing individualized interventions for children with persistent challenging behavior. The goal is, in fact, to demonstrate how programs, children and families all thrive in an environment where no suspensions and expulsions occur.
Read more (PDF, 397KB).
Updated Dear Colleague Letter on Preschool Least Restrictive Environments.
OSERS' Office of Special Education Programs released an updated Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) related to Preschool Least Restrictive Environments (LRE). The policy guidance provided in the DCL covers:
- Key statutory and regulatory requirements,
- Preschool placement options,
- Reporting educational environments data for preschool children with disabilities, and
- Use of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B funds for preschool children with disabilities.
Much of the information provided is reaffirming our guidance from the past but we have included new clarification around definitions, data collection, and funding.
Download:
Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) related to Preschool Least Restrictive Environments (LRE) (PDF, 287KB)
The Department of Education released another resource to explore how educators might build on and sustain the positive effects of preschool. A new case study of five programs examined two types of promising strategies to support children's learning in early elementary school: 1. aligning instruction from preschool through grade 3, and 2. differentiated instruction.
