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A Letter to Families about Reopening

early intervention preschool and covid 19 new york state guidelines
July 30, 2020News & Events, Parent Resources, , , , , by

Dear Adirondack Helping Hands Families,

All New York State school districts have been tasked with creating a comprehensive school reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year, which includes our Preschool Special Education program. We have been in contact with local districts, along with our health department, the state education department, our faculty, and staff to undertake the creation of this plan. Its work is based on these guiding principles:
· Protect student, staff, and community health
· Foster student learning and progress
· Maintain positive, learning environments
· Foster student and staff emotional health
· Care for our most vulnerable population
The ultimate goal is having students attend in-person as much as possible, while safely being able to maintain social distancing guidelines and ensuring safety and wellness of students, families, and employees.
The administration of Adirondack Helping Hands, through consultation with the above-mentioned entities, has begun to formulate a tentative school reopening plan that is based upon a mix of in-person and remote learning (called a hybrid educational model). The ultimate goal is to be fully in-person at some point in the school year, but this is fully dependent upon guidance from the Governor’s office, Department of Health, and the State Education Department regarding safety.
· Student’s in Miss Genevieve’s class and 12-1-1 A (interviews still in progress for lead teacher) Pam J-TA’s class will attend Monday, Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
· Student’s in Miss Alexis’ class and Miss Jillian’s class will attend Thursday, Friday from 8 am. to 1 p.m.
· All student’s will receive virtual/distance learning on Wednesdays and any necessary related services via telehealth.
· All students will receive virtual/distance learning materials, and related tele-health services for non-in-person days.
We know this far from ideal for families, especially those with young children at home. Again, this is a tentative plan that may be altered as additional information becomes available in the coming weeks. Additionally, after the first few weeks of the new school year, administration will reevaluate the situation and make adjustments as possible. This model has been chosen for several reasons:

· We are being conservative in our application of all health and safety guidelines. All adults will be required to wear face coverings. Additionally, we will encourage mask use by children, but when not possible, children will use social distancing. All classrooms will be utilized daily to be able to offer small group instruction, which will further aide in social distancing for those children who cannot tolerate masks. Plexi-glass barriers will be utilized, as well.
· A hybrid-model-a mix of in-person and remote learning-allows instructional staff to be flexible as we enter the unknown of next school year. We all worked hard to make remote instruction work last year, but we all also readily admit we can do better. Our instructional plans include using Google Classroom/Nearpod while providing in-person instruction so that should we have to change to remote instruction at any time, the adjustment will be minimal.
· Remote Instruction on Wednesdays allows for increased sanitizing between class groups that will attend in person, along with any other deep cleaning that may be necessary.
The timeline of events are as follows:
· A 2020-21 school year facilities reopening survey is posted on our website. We are asking families to complete this survey as soon as possible. It will include a request for current contact information as we need to be able to provide you with the most up to date information in a format that is convenient for you, as well as asking what your tentative education plans may be for the upcoming school year.
· By July 31, all districts and schools are required to create and provide a plan to the New York State Education Department. The plan will be posted on Adirondack Helping Hands’ website, adirondackhelpinghands.com. Our school is committed to doing this work collaboratively with our guiding entities, within the context of state regulations and regulations governing schools.
· By August 7, the Governor is scheduled to announce his decision regarding the re-opening of NY schools.
· During the week of August 17, families enrolled at AHH will receive an updated plan for Fall attendance, based on the guidelines set forth by the Governor in his announcement. Any delay in his announcement will impact release of this information to families.
While school will look different in the 2020-21 school year, the commitment of the staff at Adirondack Helping Hands remains steadfast as we all strive to provide the best education possible to your child during these unprecedented times. Regardless, rest assured, we will work as a school community to adhere to all the processes put in place to greatly decrease the spread of COVID-19 and increase our students’ opportunity for in-person learning.
With gratitude,
Bridget A. Benware and Katie L. Calkins-On-site Directors

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Adirondack Helping Hands provides services through both the Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs. These services are provided with no out-of-pocket expenses.

 

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  • 2075 Route 3, Cadyville, NY 12918
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Adirondack Helping Hands is also proud and excited to offer the Play Project to children with Autism.  The Play Project is a research based, intensive program for young children with Autism that promotes engagement in a playful way to foster development.  Children, including children with Autism, learn best through play in their natural environment.  As Dr. Rick Solomon, the creator and founder of the Play Project says, “When you do what the child loves the child will love being with you.”   

https://www.playproject.org/

To attend one of Adirondack Helping Hands’ classrooms, a child must present with very specific needs and must be approved by the child’s school district’s Committee on Preschool Special Education.

Our classrooms provide instruction from a Special Education Teacher, Speech-Language Pathologist, Occupational and Physical Therapists, and a School Counselor, along with a Teaching Assistant. All services are received during the five-hour classroom day. Our school has two Integrated classrooms, each of which have up to 8 children with IEP’s are integrated with up to 6 neurotypical children from our community. Currently, Saranac UPK has a contract for the community placements. This setting provides children the opportunity to engage with peers while having the support of a special education teacher and other staff members to help the child meet their developmental milestones. Our school also has two self-contained classrooms, each of which has up to 13 children with IEP’s receiving all of their services. In this setting a child who benefits from repeated, small group instruction would be best suited for this classroom.  A child in this classroom may need additional support to solidify their developmental goals.  Adirondack Helping Hands utilizes the Creative Curriculum in both classrooms to help meet children’s needs. The Creative Curriculum encompasses academic and cognitive growth while the teachers and staff members alike follow the child’s lead.  Research has proven time and again that when we follow a child’s lead, the child’s foundation for learning is enhanced making higher level skills more attainable and carryover more probable.  

All staff at Adirondack Helping Hands are trained in a child-first format, where getting to know the child and building on his/her strengths is expected to help the child meet his or her developmental goals.  Adirondack Helping Hands is also proud and excited to offer the Play Project to children with Autism.  The Play Project is a research based, intensive program for young children with Autism that promotes engagement in a playful way to foster development.  Children, including children with Autism, learn best through play in their natural environment.  As Dr. Rick Solomon, the creator and founder of the Play Project says, “When you do what the child loves the child will love being with you.”   

Evaluations and Services can address needs in the following developmental domains:

• Physical skills include Fine and Gross motor, along with Sensory Function and Processing.

   ○ Fine motor skills are those skills that require small muscle movements, such as pinching, grasping, and writing. Sensory Function and Processing refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses (messages relating to touch, sound, sight, smell, temperature, movement, etc.) and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. These needs would be addressed by an Occupational Therapist.

   ○ Gross motor skills are those skills that require large muscle movements, such as jumping, walking, running, and throwing. These needs would be addressed by a Physical Therapist.

• Communication skills include receptive and expressive language skills. Receptive language is how a child understands language, including things such vocabulary, directions, questions, and grammatical structures. Expressive language is how a child uses language, including things such as vocabulary, asking and answering questions, and using grammatical structures. These needs would be addressed by a Speech-Language Pathologist.

• Cognitive skills include attention, thinking, problem solving, and playing. These needs would be address by a Special Education Teacher.

• Adaptive skills include those skills needed to take care of ones’ self, such as feeding, dressing, and toileting. These skills, depending on the significance of your child’s needs, would be addressed by either a Special Education Teacher or an Occupational Therapist.

• Social-Emotional skills include how a child interacts with others and expresses and understands emotions. These skills, depending on the significance of your child’s needs, would be addressed by either a Special Education Teacher or a School Counselor.

○ Parent Training- This service is available should your family feel you could benefit from additional support.

These services, depending upon a child’s age and specific needs, can be provided in a child’s home or daycare, in a community setting, or in one of our four special education classrooms.

Evaluations and Services can address needs in the following developmental domains:

•Physical skills include Fine and Gross motor, along with Sensory Function and Processing.

   ○Fine motor skills are those skills that require small muscle movements, such as pinching, grasping, and writing. Sensory Function and Processing refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses (messages relating to touch, sound, sight, smell, temperature, movement, etc.) and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. These needs would be addressed by an Occupational Therapist.

   ○Gross motor skills are those skills that require large muscle movements, such as jumping, walking, running, and throwing. These needs would be addressed by a Physical Therapist.

•Communication skills include receptive and expressive language skills. Receptive language is how a child understands language, including things such vocabulary, directions, questions, and grammatical structures. Expressive language is how a child uses language, including things such as vocabulary, asking and answering questions, and using grammatical structures. These needs would be addressed by a Speech-Language Pathologist.

•Cognitive skills include attention, thinking, problem solving, and playing. These needs would be address by a Special Instruction Teacher.

•Adaptive skills include those skills needed to take care of ones’ self, such as feeding, dressing, and toileting. These skills, depending on the significance of your child’s needs, would be addressed by either a Special Instruction Teacher or an Occupational Therapist.

•Social-Emotional skills include how a child interacts with others and expresses and understands emotions. These skills would be addressed by a Special Instruction Teacher.

   ○Parent Training- This service is available should your family feel you could benefit from additional support.

These services, depending upon a child’s age and specific needs, can be provided in a child’s home or daycare, or in a community setting.