Programming
We believe that the best interventions are broad-based and transdisciplinary. Every child at Rise (whether or not they have a developmental delay or disability) is monitored and supported as needed by a comprehensive team that includes:
A lead teacher with a master’s degree in early childhood special education (or is currently working on obtaining a master’s degree in early childhood special education)
Two highly qualified teaching assistants
Speech pathologist
Occupational therapist
Physical therapist
Music therapist
Play-based behavior analyst
Art integration specialist
We use screening and assessment processes to monitor children’s development and to set meaningful goals with all families to optimize children’s development and promote their full inclusion and engagement.
Progress is tracked through data collection systems to ensure we’re doing everything we can to support children and families, and goals are embedded into inclusive play and engaging instruction.
Most importantly, our motto is to “make it social,” as we believe that children learn best through authentic friendships.
Screening & Assessment
At Rise, we believe that authentic, ongoing screening and assessment is the key to monitoring the development of young children and to planning developmentally appropriate learning experiences that respond to their individual interests, learning styles, and abilities. Screeners and assessments also help us provide children with the level of support they need to actively participate in their classroom activities, learn and develop, and to form meaningful friendships with their peers.
During the first six weeks of school and ongoing throughout the school year, teachers and therapists, with families, complete curriculum-based and standardized screenings and assessments for all children at Rise. We request that families provide input during this process, and goals and objectives based on children's strengths and needs are developed in partnership with families from the information gathered. Rise then plans for times of the day to embed opportunities for children to practice skills associated with their goals and to plan for small and large group times, thereby linking assessment to planning.
To monitor the development of young children without identified delays or disabilities, Rise uses The Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3) and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2). The ASQ®-3 and ASQ®:SE-2 are sent home early in the school year for families to complete and return to their classroom teachers, who score them and discuss results with families.
We also use the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS-3®) to monitor children’s development. The AEPS-3 allows our teachers and therapists to gather in depth, authentic observations of children during the daily routines of the classroom and to follow each individual child’s developmental continuum on an ongoing basis. We formally complete the AEPS-3 in fall and spring and share progress with families during conferences. Looking at the “whole child,” families, teachers, and therapists then collaboratively plan next steps for each child based on the information obtained. Ongoing observation allows our team to monitor each child’s development and educational and therapy plans accordingly.
Family-teacher conferences are held each fall and spring to dedicate time to celebrating children and families and developing and/or adjusting child goals to reflect children’s development, progress, and current priorities of the family.
Classrooms & Teachers
Rise has four classrooms, each supporting 9 to12 children. We offer both full-time and part-time schedules. Children with disabilities are encouraged to attend full-time to maximize their therapeutic and educational opportunities. We strive for an evidence-based inclusive ratio in each class. This means that for every 1 child enrolled with a diagnosed developmental delay or disability, 2 to 3 children without developmental delays or disabilities are enrolled. Children are enrolled in classes based on chronological age. We strive to maintain a student-to-teacher ratio between 3:1 or 4:1.
During a typical day, each child follows a schedule that includes individual activities; group activities; gross motor play, both indoor and outdoor; therapy (speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or music therapy); mealtimes; and rest time. Due to the range of abilities in all classes, education is individualized to meet each child’s needs.
The Rise School of Denver is licensed by the Child Care Division of the State of Colorado.
Curriculum(s)
Get Set for School (GSS)
Part of Handwriting Without Tears®, Get Set for School™ helps Pre-K young learners gain the skills and experiences they need for lifelong learning success. Their hands-on curriculum focuses on the three core learning areas—readiness & writing, language &literacy, and numbers & math. GSS gets preschoolers singing, dancing, coloring, building, and exploring on a joyous journey to school. To learn more, visit: http://www.hwtears.com/gss
Zoo Phonics
The Rise School uses Zoo Phonics to help your child learn speech language, and literacy skills! Here are some important things to know about Zoo Phonics: All 26 letters of the alphabet are paired with an animal shaped letter to help the child remember the shapes and sounds of the letter. Each animal has a name that will help the child learn the letter’s sound (e.g., Allie Alligator, Catina Cat, DeeDee Deer, etc). Letter sounds are taught before letter names because we use sounds when we read and spell, not letter names. We will teach children to read lower case letters first since 95% of the text children see is lowercase. Remember that only first letters of sentences and important names are capitalized.
We will continue to teach children to write capital letters first since developmentally it is easier to copy the straight lines found in capital letters than the curves found in many lower case letters. Each animal letter has an associated movement to help the child “cement” this information into memory. For example, for Allie Alligator we make big chomping movements with our arms and say, “a.” The Zoo-phonics Body Signals allow children to put their natural “wiggles” to good use and act as a cue for memory. Zoo Phonics is appropriate for children of all ages at the Rise School and the fun, active, multi-sensory approach makes it appropriate for all different kinds of children. We are very excited to watch your child learn language and literacy using this program as the year progresses! Learn more at http://www.zoo-phonicsathome.com/c-3-for-all-ages.aspx#preschool
Young Athletes Program (YAP)
The Rise School has partnered with Special Olympics Colorado to participate in the Young Athletes program for more than 13 years. YAP is designed to engage all of our children through developmentally appropriate play activities, fostering physical, cognitive and social development. Our pre-assessment involved having the children try various foundational skills of playing “I Spy” (incorporating our Zoo Phonic letters and animals!) walking on designated paths, balance beams, and balancing, jumping, ball trapping, catching, throwing and kicking.
Rise classroom teachers have been given online education resources for another Special Olympic Program called “Get Into It”, which focuses on themes of diversity, similarities/differences and advocacy for all people. Learn more about this remarkable inclusive program at Young Athletes (specialolympics.org).