Early Childhood Special Education is the Minnetonka Public Schools program that provides early intervention to young children, age birth to kindergarten, who show developmental delay in the general areas of:
- Cognitive
- Speech and Language
- Large and fine motor skills
- Adaptive/functional skills
- Vision or hearing losses
- Social/Emotional skills
After a child receives a formal evaluation to identify specific needs, trained ECSE teachers and specialists will work with the parents and child to develop his or her greatest potential. From birth to age three, these Special Education services are delivered to the child primarily in his or her home or childcare center. From age three to Kindergarten, children receive these services at the Minnetonka Community Education Center.
The ECSE process guarantees parental involvement every step of the way. From birth to age three, a child's education is outlined in the "Individual Family Service Plan," or IFSP. After that, the child's educational goals and objectives are spelled out in his or her "Individual Education Plan," or IEP. Parents are a key team member in putting together the IFSP and IEP.
The ECSE staff supports children and their families by:
- Helping children do the best they can through individualized program plans (IFSP and IEP) geared to promote development, based on each child's assessed level of function and need.
- Supporting and educating families to help promote the abilities and work with the challenges of children who have special needs.
- Providing parents with information about community-based experiences for their children