Moving on to kindergarten

When my child was in his last year of ECSE, I worried about how he would handle the transition to kindergarten.  Would he get along with his new “normal” peers?  Would he keep up with the other kids?  How would he handle having 25 kids in his classroom?  I talked with my son’s ECSE teachers about what they thought his level of ability was and what would be a good fit for him.  I also discussed what they thought his unique strengths were and what might present a challenge for him. 

In Minneapolis, there is a spectrum of services.  In my son’s case, they recommended a “citywide” autism program for him.  The schools with citywide programs tend to have more specifically trained teachers in a particular area: autism, deaf/hard of hearing, Down syndrome or physical impairment.  Sometimes these programs can be an especially good fit for a child who could benefit from being with mainstream peers as well as a group of peers who have needs similar to his.  Children who are mainstreamed are generally pulled out for whatever special learning needs they may have, such as speech/language, social skills group, occupational therapy, or physical therapy.  Some kindergarteners are mainstreamed for a half day of regular kindergarten and spend the other half of the day in a self-contained, more specialized classroom.  Children spend as much time in the self-contained classrooms as is appropriate for their needs. 

Sometimes, the CLASS program (Coordinated Learning For Academic And Social Success) is recommended for children who would require special education services the majority of the day.  This is a program designed very specifically to meet the individual needs of each student and is currently offered at about 14 different Minneapolis schools. 

After talking with his teachers, I attended a very helpful meeting sponsored by ECSE staff about choosing a school and helping your child transition to kindergarten.  They told us that Minneapolis Public Schools has staff to help you make a good placement choice for your child.  For information about special education placements, call Rochelle Cox at 668-5104.

Next, I visited schools.  A few schools had an autism program already in place and one was starting a new one, so I spent time visiting all the schools.  I usually called and made an appointment for a special tour, because the regular tour didn’t usually say much about the special education program.  Each of the schools was different, but I settled on two or three of my favorites and listed my choices on the school choice card.  School choice cards should be given to your child’s teacher by this year’s deadline: January 15, 2007. 

Having my child safely enrolled in a school of my choice did not allay all my fears, but at least I had taken the first steps.   A few of his friends from ECSE would be attending the same school, and that helped.  I visited his new school once or twice to observe current special needs kindergarteners in their classroom and I saw how successful they were being. 

Before school started, the special education case manager for my son’s school met with us and gave him a special tour of his classroom and the special ed classroom, so that he would be familiar with everything.  On the first day, I met his bus at school and helped him get settled.  Even though my son is in third grade now, the first day of school is still a bit overwhelming for him, but he soon learns where to go and what to do.  And, by the way, he loves school.