An Early Childhood Screening is an informal session in a preschool classroom in which children are observed in a natural play environment during a period of approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. It is meant to provide information that is used in developing an educational plan for each child.
Who participates in the Screening?
Parents are included in the screening process along with a complete Early Childhood Team. An Early Childhood Team consists of a preschool teacher, school nurse, school psychologist and a speech/language pathologist.
What are the components of an Early Childhood Screening?
The children are asked by the Early Childhood Team to complete a variety of activities and then they are observed as they interact with the other children in the classroom. Vision and hearing screening is completed by the school nurse. The children interact with the Early Childhood Team while parents and the social worker meet to share information about the wide variety of Early Childhood program options available in the district for at-risk, English Language Learners (ELL) or children with more than a six month delay in their development. Results are compiled by the Early Childhood Team to provide an indication of the child's stage of development. Then, the Team meets with the parents to share the information gathered during screening.
What is a child's stage of development?
During screening significant milestones from each of six developmental areas are identified. These developmental areas are:
- intellectual
- social-emotional
- expressive language
- receptive language
- fine motor
- gross motor
When does screening take place?
Parents interested in having their children evaluated for preschool, should call the D21 Administration Office at 847-537-8270 and make an appointment. Morning appointments are for Spanish-speaking children, and the afternoon appointments are for children for whom English is a second language and English speakers.
>>> Download the Screening Form
When completed, please send to:
Mary Mueller
School District 21
999 West Dundee Road
Wheeling, Illinois 60090