Early Childhood Programs

All programs are located at Onaway Elementary School, 3115 Woodbury Road.

 

 

In the District’s current program, all classes include both students who have been identified to have disabilities and those who have not been so identified and serve as peer models.

With a commitment to provide an inclusionary educational setting for our students with disabilities, the practice of including "peer models" in our preschool classrooms is used and recommended by the Ohio Department of Education. Peer models provide an excellent learning example for our students with disabilities, and also benefit from a rich developmentally appropriate preschool experience with exposure to children with differences.

The Shaker Heights Early Childhood Program is looking for Peer Models for the 2024-2025 school year for both full-day, half-day morning and half-day afternoon classes. Students are screened in the areas of speech/language, motor skills, social skills/behavior, pre-academic skills and daily living skills. Your child must:

 

If you believe that your child meets the above criteria, the next step is to have your child screened by our Early Childhood Program staff. To apply to be screened, please complete this screening application.

 

Once your application is submitted, you will be contacted to confirm your request for a 1-2 hour in-house peer model screening, which will take place at Onaway Elementary School. This will provide the preschool team the opportunity to observe specific developmental skills that are essential to our program.

 

All information provided in the application is confidential and will only be used to help the preschool team get to know you and your child prior to the screening.

 

 

After the screening three possible outcomes can occur:

The Shaker Heights Early Childhood Program also provides options for students with disabilities: