The Early Childhood Program at AGS
As we near the opening of the Preschool Lottery at the Early Childhood Center at Alice Gustafson Elementary School, we thought it was time to give you a refresher on the history of the development of the Early Childhood Program in BPS101.
The Early Childhood Center (ECC) building at Alice Gustafson Elementary School opened in 2009, but early childhood education actually started at BPS101 in the 1970s. From its early start just prior to Public Law 94-142, the BPS101 Early Childhood program, which was called “Developmental Preschool” at the time, was held at Furnas Electric Company building. Public Law 94-142 was passed in 1975 by Gerald Ford and guaranteed a “free appropriate public education to each child with a disability.”
The ECC was housed at Furnas Electric for about a year then moved to the Congregational Church. It moved through every elementary school in the district at one point or another before making its final stop at the ECC at Alice Gustafson School.
The early founders of the program included Marilyn Horbus, a speech pathologist, and Peter Levine, a psychologist at the time, developed the early childhood screening process which is still used today. Along with their fellow colleagues, they were also instrumental in starting classroom inclusion for the District, giving special education students the support they need while learning alongside their general education peers.
In addition to the early childhood preschool program, we offer free early development screening for infants to children up to five years old at the Early Childhood Center. The screenings are conducted by a team of BPS101 educators and specialists.
For decades, our Early Childhood program has helped preschoolers with special needs to receive a solid educational foundation. The Early Childhood program incorporates best practices from special and general education, introduces activities for blended classrooms, and improves the early education experience for typically-developing children as well as children with special needs. For more information, call (630) 937-8000.
The BPS101 Preschool at the Early Childhood Center is a tuition-free, lottery-based system. Families are, however, responsible for the District’s standard registration fee. The lottery for the 2023-24 school year is open from November 1, 2022, at 8:00 AM, until January 27, 2023, at 4:00 PM. An announcement with instructions on how to enter the lottery will be shared out on November 1. Connect with us on social media at @bps101 to stay up to date on happenings in the District.
We have created a video that highlights the different aspects of our program. You can view the video here. If you still have a specific question about the program, you can email the coordinator at Paulette.Ollie@bps101.net.
If you have any questions concerning your child’s development or readiness for preschool, you can contact the ECC office at 630-937-8000 and request a free screening.
