Although attendance is not required in a preschool program, we believe that if a preschool placement was determined to be the best placement for the child, the child will benefit most when attendance is regular.

If/When your child is absent, please call both the transportation and classroom numbers prior to the start of class and indicate the reason for the absence.

If the school is not notified of your child’s absence, we are required to call you each time she / he is absent. This is in compliance with The Missing Child Act and is used to assure your child’s safety. Please help us by calling in when your child is going to be absent.

School hours are important! It is highly recommended that all children with IEPs regularly ride their assigned bus. However, if you are transporting your child to and from preschool, please be on time and follow the Five-Minute Guideline; in other words, bring your child within five minutes of the class start time and pick up within five minutes of the class ending time. This is crucial for the effective classroom management and courtesy to the other students in the program. Please discuss with your child’s teacher any concerns you may have regarding times. Please call if your child will be absent or late.

It is the practice of Pickerington Preschool to help maximize the growth and development of children through a variety of methods that emphasize positive behavior management approaches. Children are encouraged, but never forced, to join all activities, including eating snacks and trying new foods.

Correcting behavior is guidance involving the whole learning environment. Every child is respected. Each class encourages good behavior through praise and various incentive programs. We also realize that children need limits set to develop self-discipline and socially acceptable behaviors. There are set limits which the child will learn in the preschool room. The limits will also protect the child and the group.

Children are limited when they:

• Infringe on the rights of others
• Are endangering themselves or others
• Are misusing materials or equipment.

Our behavior correction methods include:

• Supporting their feelings & helping them verbalize the issue
• Redirection
• Natural consequences
• Physically stopping them when necessary
• Separation or “time-out” for repeated infringement

When these methods have been consistently used and the child is still in need of behavior management, a team that includes the teacher, parent, school psychologist and other persons deemed appropriate may meet to develop a behavior plan.

All staff are trained in CPI, a Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Program, which focuses on ways to avoid the necessity to restrain students. It teaches the use of safe physical intervention as an emergency intervention to respond to an individual posing an imminent danger to self or others, and that physical interventions are a last resort. If your child needs to be restrained at any time, you will be contacted.

Preschool staff members in charge of a child or group of children shall be responsible for their discipline. According to Preschool Rule 3301-37-10, discipline shall be restricted. There shall be no cruel, harsh, corporal punishment or any unusual punishments such as, but not limited to, punching, pinching, shaking, spanking, or biting.

A Communicable Disease Chart is posted at each site. Necessary staff members have completed the six-hour training with a three-hour refresher course every three years in Communicable Disease Recognition given by a licensed physician or registered nurse. All staff members have been provided hand washing and disinfecting procedures as well as recognition of communicable disease or illness. All staff members will have a physical every five years.

The following precautions shall be taken for children suspected of having a communicable disease:

1. The teacher / school nurse shall immediately notify the parent or guardian of the child’s condition when a child has been observed with signs or symptoms of illness.
2. A child with any of the following signs or symptoms of illness will be considered as carrying a communicable disease and shall be immediately isolated to the office or private area of the classroom, within sight or hearing of an adult, made comfortable, and observed for worsening symptoms until discharged to his/her parents or guardian:

• • diarrhea (more than one abnormally loose stool in a twenty-four hour period)
  • severe coughing, causing the child to become red or blue in the face or to 
make a whooping sound
  • greenish discharge from nose
  • difficult or rapid breathing
  • yellowish eyes or skin
  • conjunctivitis
  • stiff neck
  • a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit taken by the axillary method when in combination with any other sign of illness
  • untreated infected skin patch or patches
  • unusually dark urine and/or gray or white stool
  • physical problems that can be regarded as contagious to others in a group situation
  • evidence of lice/nits, scabies, or other parasitic Infestations, including ring
worm, bed bugs, etc.

If any of the previously mentioned signs or symptoms are observed at home, please do not send your child to preschool. If your child has had a fever, she/he should be fever-free without medication for at least twenty-four hours before returning to school. If your child has shown symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea in the past twenty-four hours, please keep your child home. If your child has been given antibiotics for an infection, they need to be on medication for twenty-four hours prior to returning to school. Notification will be sent home for communicable diseases that have been identified in your child’s classroom. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to learn.

If your child receives services in the home, please contact your therapist/teacher to cancel his/her visit if your child is not well or others in the home are sick.

While at preschool, your child will have many
 opportunities for play and new experiences. Please dress 
your child comfortably in clothes that suit the weather. 
Select shoes that are sturdy for the outdoors. Shoes must be 
enclosed, with a back heel and not a strap for the heel. Sandals, flip-flops, crocs, and slippers are not permitted, except for designated theme days. Students may be asked to “sit out” some activities, as a result. Please send a complete change of clothing for your child (including socks) in a plastic bag for accidents. If your child uses diapers, please send in a sufficient amount of diapers. Be sure to label everything with your child’s name, including coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. Every effort is made to have outdoor play, whenever possible. Make sure that your child has appropriate clothing for the weather. Donations of spare clothing sizes 3 to 6, particularly pants and underwear, would be greatly appreciated.

Children with Disabilities

Children are identified based on the Operating Standards for Ohio Educational Agencies serving Children with Disabilities. To qualify as a child with special needs, each child must have a multi-factored evaluation. This evaluation includes four parts:

1. An interview with a person who knows about the child, including developmental, family, medical, and educational history
2. Observations of the child on two different occasions
3. Standardized norm-referenced testing that compares children of similar age
4. Criterion-referenced testing that assesses skills mastered by the child

A child is eligible for special services if he/she is 3 to 5 years of age and has a documented delay in one or more areas of development, according to Rule 3301-51-01, OAC:

1. Autism (ASD or AUT)
2. Intellectual Disability (ID)
3. Deaf-Blindness
4. Deafness
5. Emotional Disturbance (ED)
6. Hearing Impairment (HI)
7. Multiple Disabilities (MD)
8. Orthopedic Impairment (OI)
9. Other Health Impairment(OHI)
10. Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
11. Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)
12. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
13. Visual Impairment (VI)
14. Developmental Delay (DD)

All children who have been identified with a disability will have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP will address specific goals for each child in his/her areas of delay, along with placement in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and services for which the child is eligible. The IEP will be updated on an annual basis or more often as requested by parents/guardians or staff members.

Typically Developing Peers or PEER MODELS

Peer models:

• Must be 3 years of age
• Potty trained
• Have their own transportation

Preference for peer models is given to children who:

• Demonstrate good language skills, positive behavior, and other age-appropriate skills
• Interact with other children and with adults in a sharing and cooperative manner.
• Are not considered at-risk