The Ready Start Preschool is a free program run by the school district which serves a blend of students with developmental delays and typically developing children from the community.  Community children must be four years old by the beginning of the school year.  There are specific criteria to qualify for a spot in the program.  Children with delays are identified through the school district Child Find Process.   

Each preschool session is 2 ½ hours long.  The morning class is from 8:30 to 11:00.  The afternoon class is from 12:00 to 2:30.  No school on Wednesdays.

ABOUT THE PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM

The Ready Start preschool classrooms use the Creative Curriculum as a framework for providing an age appropriate school experience.  The Creative Curriculum is designed to provide a number of choices for children to make while being exposed to the academic and social opportunities needed to develop school skills.

Literacy or early exposure to reading is a major focus of the Lake Washington School District.  Children are exposed to the alphabet and sounds letters make, encouraged to write and draw creatively and are read to often. 

In addition we teach children how to follow school rules and the routine of a classroom.  Staff in the classroom is trained to encourage children to use their language to express themselves, make choices and communicate with other children.  In the Ready Start class each child is treated as an individual and helped to develop beyond her or his current level.