Early Childhood - Carmel Clay Schools

The Early Childhood (EC) program provides special education and related services at no cost for children ages 3-5 with identified special needs.

Eligible students participate in the EC program alongside typical peers from the community and the district’s Edu-Care program. Eligibility for early childhood special education services is determined by the Carmel Early Childhood Assessment Team using a multidisciplinary approach.

Students in our developmental preschool program have access to speech, occupational, and physical therapists as deemed necessary in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Therapists are able to push in to the early childhood classroom to work with students in their natural environment and ensure they are able to access all areas of the classroom and playground. In addition, the therapists work closely with the classroom staff to ensure areas of fine motor, gross motor, speech, and language are embedded throughout the week.

The Early Childhood Speech and Language Pathologists offer a "speech only" evaluation for those families that are only concerned with their child's speech development. Students who qualify receive walk-in speech therapy as determined by the IEP.

If you feel the Early Childhood program may be right for your student, please contact the EC Coordinator, Mary Podany.

Early childhood calendar

Locations:

Cherry Tree Elementary
Clay Center Elementary
Forest Dale Elementary
Smoky Row Elementary
Woodbrook Elementary

Class Times:

Preschool (Ages 3-4)

7:40 am - 10:20 am

Pre-K (Ages 4-5)

11:50 am - 2:25 pm

Evaluations

What if I think my child has special needs?

Children ages 0 to 3 years: Your child may be eligible for early intervention through Central Indiana First Steps. To make a referral, call (317) 257-2229 or visit their website.

Children ages 3 to 5 years: Call the Carmel Clay Schools Early Childhood Assessment Team (CECAT) at (317) 571-4616 or email Mary Podany. Someone will speak to you regarding your concerns and help determine the appropriate type of referral. If you have concerns about your child’s development in several areas, we will help you begin the process for a comprehensive evaluation.

If your only concerns about your child’s development include difficulty with producing speech sounds (articulation) and/or expressive and receptive language skills, we will help you with the process for initiating a speech/language evaluation referral.

Developmental Milestones:
Please visit the CDC website for more information regarding developmental milestones.

Please visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website for more information regarding developmental milestones for speech articulation.

Classrooms

We recognize each child is a unique person with an individual pattern and timing of growth along with individual personality, learning style and family background. Assessment of the student’s strengths and needs is necessary to determine instructional needs.

Young children learn most effectively through a concrete, play-oriented approach. Their development and learning occur throughout daily activities and routines. The program provides a developmentally appropriate curriculum for the age span of the children being served and is implemented with attention to the different needs, interests and developmental levels of each child. An integrated approach is used to encourage the children’s physical, emotional, social, communicative and cognitive development. Emphasis is placed on providing materials and activities that are concrete, relevant to the children, and encourage self-directed play and active exploration.

Specific classroom placement is based on a child's legal residence.

Orientation Days:
Parents and students are invited to the classrooms to visit with the EC staff, discuss each child's growth over the summer and address the students' transition needs.

Student/Family Support Days:
Early Childhood students do not attend class on the monthly Student/Family Support Days. These days are essential for effective program implementation. Home visits and observations of students in environments other than the CCS classroom may be scheduled. These days also allow EC staff to collaborate with our district Autism, behavior and instructional specialists when appropriate. Student/Family Support Days may also be used to schedule meetings with parents, community preschools, private therapists, and other resources.

Legal Guidelines

Peer Friends Program

Typical peers help to strengthen our program by acting as peer models in the areas of oral language, social skills, and behavior. Peers are fully integrated members of the class and provided a research based preschool curriculum.

The Peer Friends pogram welcomes children ages 3-5 who are already comfortable in a school environment. Students must reside with the Carmel Clay Schools boundaries and transportation is not provided.

Peer Friends are "typically-developing" peers who join our classrooms to promote positive communication and relationships and have fun! CCS will accept applications until the program has reached capacity.

peer friends Applications

Contact Us

Mary Podany

Coordinator

Focus on the Whole Child

We recognize that each child is a unique person with an individual pattern of developmental timing and growth. Factors such as personality, learning style, life experiences, and family background work together to shape each child into a unique and valued member of the classroom community, where cooperation and acceptance are the norm.

Developmentally Appropriate

A developmentally appropriate program is child-centered; teachers and therapists make decisions and provide support according to what is best for each individual child. In the classroom, an integrative, child-focused approach is used to address physical, emotional, social, communicative, and cognitive development for every learner.

Active, Meaningful Learning

Young children learn most effectively through a concrete, play-oriented approach. Their learning and development occur throughout daily activities and routines that are meaningful and engaging. Emphasis is placed on activities that encourage self-directed play and active exploration.