Welcome to the Early Childhood Center The Cleveland Heights – University Heights City School District is committed to providing the highest quality preschool services to children ages 3 – 5 in a family-friendly environment. Our Early Childhood Center is housed in a separate, specially modified wing of Gearity Professional Development School.  Opportunities for families include full and part time preschool and preschool programs for children with special needs. Three classrooms in the Early Childhood Preschool Program are designed so that an early childhood educator and an early childhood special education educator co-teach. A definition of co-teaching is,”two or more professionals providing joint delivery of instruction to a diverse group of students in a shared space”. In the co-teaching classroom, children with and without disabilities play and learn together. There is a shared responsibility for educating ALL children.

For preschool students with disabilities, an interdisciplinary team works together to address the child’s needs. Classroom teachers collaborate with other professionals such as the school psychologist, school nurse, occupational/ physical therapists and speech/language pathologists to address targeted goals. Since these professionals often work with preschool students with disabilities within the context of the natural environment, all children in the classroom benefit from their expertise.

We recognize that education is a developmental process and that children learn at different rates. In view of this, we accept and respect each child, giving support and supervision to help each child grow intellectually, socially, and physically. A developmentally appropriate curriculum is implemented for all children within a safe and welcoming environment where children learn and grow through exploration and play.