Today, members of Wheaton's two Rotary clubs met at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center to celebrate the dedication of the new playground
designed to meet the needs of the Jefferson students.
About 2/3 of Jefferson students have some type of a special need or disability and 1/3 of students are typically developing students who pay tuition to attend the school. Students may begin school at Jefferson after their third birthday and can attend until they reach kindergarten-age.
Within School District 200 four types of early childhood programs are offered with most classes taking place at Jefferson: Instructional (special education), Blended Classrooms (special education and typical peers), Phonology (significant focus on speech acquisition) and Speech (mild speech/language issues). Approximately 90% to 95% of children exiting early childhood education go on to attend kindergarten at their neighborhood school.
As a long time supporter of the Sensory Garden Playground, the Rotary Club of Wheaton A.M. welcomed this opportunity to expand our support of our special needs community.