Just north of Coffman High School lives a world where potential transforms into progress each and every day. The Dublin City Schools Preschool, which has called Coffman Road home since 2020, provides an education for Dublin’s youngest learners. It also serves as a holistic, nurturing environment where students are not defined by what they are, but instead by who they can become.
Why a preschool?
During the 2023 levy campaign, some inquired as to why DCS needed to have a preschool. The comments were a reaction to the bond issue, which earmarked $7.5 million for a 7,000 square foot preschool expansion project featuring six classrooms and a 1,600-square foot gymnasium. The answer lies in state and federal legislation.
Dublin preschool
The DCS Preschool operates under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Ohio Operating Standards for the Education of Students, both of which ensure that students with disabilities are provided with a free appropriate public education that is tailored to their individual needs.
“Identifying students who may need special education is not a passive obligation for us. We actively seek out children who may need special education as part of our commitment to Child Find,” says Vanessa Ohlinger, the principal of the Preschool.
Child Find is the process of locating, evaluating and identifying children who may be in need of special education and related services. Ohio law requires public school districts to have Child Find policies and procedures in place to ensure children with disabilities are identified and served by their third birthday.
The Preschool must act within strict timelines to ensure compliance with IDEA and the Operating Standards.
Within 30 days of identifying a child as possibly having a disability, the Preschool’s Request for Assistance (RFA) assessment team must conduct an initial evaluation. The information from the evaluation is used to determine whether the child meets the eligibility criterion of a “child with a disability” under one of 13 eligibility categories.
Then, within 30 days of completing an evaluation, the Preschool team must write an individualized education program (IEP) for the child and start intervention services. Currently, the RFA team averages four to six evaluations per week.
While every student who is identified must be served, Ohlinger and her team are diligent about fiscal stewardship and responsible staffing.
“We have a rigorous itinerant program that serves more than 50 students,” Ohlinger says. “When possible, our teachers and therapists go and serve students in their home or at other local preschools and/or daycares as opposed to placement at the Preschool. This keeps us from hiring staff for classrooms that may be partially filled.”
Utilization of Dublin services
Valentin Mendez Menchaca
The DCS Preschool, which operates as a half-day program, has 351 students enrolled. Forty-six percent of identified students at the Preschool have autism, while others have speech impairments, developmental delays or a combination of needs.
Ohlinger pointed out that there has been a significant increase in speech therapy services, up 122% since the COVID-19 pandemic, and researchers believe increased screen time and limited social interaction are contributing factors.
The Preschool uses a peer model, wherein typically-developing children serve as role models for their peers with disabilities. Peer students pay an affordable tuition and learn in an integrated classroom setting that fosters self-confidence and an appreciation for diversity among people.
“Research continues to show the importance of inclusion. By adopting the peer model, we educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE), which is a guiding principle of IDEA,” Ohlinger says.
The peer model is a transformative experience for typically-developing children, according to Ohlinger.
“Being a peer is not just about helping others; peers also develop leadership skills when they assist their friends in following directions,” she says. “We use phrases like, ‘Your friend is still learning,’ to express how they can assist their friends in following directions or completing a task.”
Well-qualified and caring staff
A key strength of the DCS Preschool is its exceptional team of teachers; each a licensed early childhood intervention specialist and classroom paraprofessionals.
Photos courtesy of Kendall Calvin, Preschool Social Media Manager
student television show
In each classroom, one teacher and two paraprofessionals work with 14-16 students. It’s a dynamic team, committed to bridging gaps and fostering growth in the most crucial years of a child’s life.
Annual licensing visits and audits of classrooms to ensure compliance with guidelines are not viewed as hurdles, but as opportunities to refine and improve the learning environment.
In fact, DCS Preschool staff are doing such a great job that they have already outgrown the centralized location they moved to in 2020. Fortunately, the approval of the bond issue in November 2023 has provided the resources for DCS to complete the much-needed addition. The project, which will increase the school’s capacity by 190 students, will break ground this spring and be open for the 2025-2026 school year.
“This expansion is a testament to our community’s commitment to these children. The addition will provide much-needed space for learning, treatments, and therapies, (as well as) a gymnasium for gross motor activities,” Ohlinger says. “Without the addition, we would have had to look at decentralizing and having a satellite location. We’re so grateful that we can now grow and serve even more children.”
Cassie Dietrich is a Public Information Officer for Dublin City Schools.
Learn More
To learn more about the DCS Preschool, visit www.dublinschools.net/dcspreschool. Know a child three-and-a-half or older who is ready to attend preschool? Applications to be a peer are currently being accepted.
