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REACH ROCHESTER EARLY EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN


The REACH preschool Program is an important part of the Rochester School District. REACH provides services for Rochester children from the ages of three through five who have a variety of abilities and disabilities. The preschool utilizes a 'reverse mainstreaming' method in order to have typically developing children in each class serving as appropriate role models.

REACH has four classrooms staffed by a highly educated and outstanding group of teachers, therapists and paraprofessionals. The services provided include Speech, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and services for children who are deaf or hearing impaired.

Three of these classrooms have three sessions per week:

• The first session runs 8:50-11:00 on Tuesday and Thursday. This session serves children who have just turned three. This class changes and increases in size as the school year progresses. State law requires that public education take place as soon as the child with special needs turns three. Regardless of when the child reaches his or her third birthday, they need to receive services through the public school system.
  
  
• The second session runs from 8:50 to 11:00 Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The children who attend this session are typically between the ages of three and four.
  
  
• The third session runs from 12:00 to 2:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This session is for four-year olds and five-year olds. The majority of the children attending this class are in their last year before kindergarten.
  
  
• The fourth REACH classroom provides services for children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder. It runs from 8:50 to 2:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each child's program is individualized according to that child's needs. Although there are some children with Autism in the other classes, the students in this room require instruction presented with their special learning styles in mind. All of the children in this classroom receive an educational program based upon their Individual Education Plan (IEP). The children receive Speech therapy and Occupational therapy as needed within the classroom setting.
  

There are also children who have been identified as needing special services who receive these services in a community placement. A certified educator and a Speech Language Pathologist work with the children at Head Start, at private childcare centers, or are brought to the school for services only on a weekly basis.

For more information concerning the REACH program please call 332-2146. table