The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough

Special education refers to a range of services that can be provided in different ways and in different settings. There’s no “one size fits all” approach to special education. It’s tailored to meet the needs of students who have disabilities based upon their individual learning profiles.

Special education focuses on helping students who have disabilities successfully access the general education curriculum and daily school routine. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE)for students with disabilities But it doesn’t mean placing students in a special classroom all day long. In fact, federal law says that students who receive special education services should learn in the same classrooms as other students as much as possible. This is known as the least restrictive environment (or LRE).

The services and supports for one student may be very different from those of another student. It’s all about the individual child and providing them with the resources they need to make meaningful and measurable progress in school.

Students who qualify for special education have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). They receive specialized teaching and other resources at no cost to their families. Specialists work with students on strengths as well as challenges.

The special education process is designed to be highly collaborative, whereby school staff and parents work together to determine the most important learning domains to target for individual children as well as the most appropriate programming to provide in order to help the child make effective and measurable progress towards the general education curriculum within the classroom.

Since the special education process can often be confusing for families, please feel free to look at the various resources provided below to better understand the different parts of the process and the various participant's roles in the process.

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Information detailing various aspects of the special education process:

Helpful supports in navigating the special education process:

Transitioning from Early Intervention to the Northborough & Southborough Preschool Programs

Information for parents of children who are receiving Early Intervention Services and have been referred to the Northborough & Southborough Public Schools

Welcome to the Northborough & Southborough Public Schools!

As your child approaches his or her third birthday, we need to start thinking about his or her possible transition from Early Intervention services to the public schools. It is important that you understand the steps in this process so that we may work together to ensure the seamless delivery of services if your child qualifies for special education services. This brochure was created to give you an overview of the process.

STEP 1: Approximately 3- 6 months before your child’s third birthday, your Early Intervention Service Coordinator and service providers may propose to refer your child to the Northborough or Southborough Public Schools. At that time, you will sign written consent giving permission for EI to send a referral form and supporting documentation to the Preschool Office. Once received, the Preschool Secretary will send back an acknowledgement to you that the referral was received and approximately when the formal evaluation consent will be sent to you for signature.

STEP 2: A Transition Planning Conference (TPC) will be held at least 90 days prior to your child’s third birthday. This is usually a home visit where the Early Intervention Service Coordinator and the Early Childhood Administrator come together to explain the transition process into the public schools. The process will be summarized as follows:

The first step in the process is for the district to complete formal testing in the child’s areas of need to determine eligibility for special education services. It is important to return the signed consent as soon as possible. Once signed consent to evaluate is received from the parents, the school district has 30 school days within which to complete the testing. One of the preschool teachers or service providers will be contacting you to set up times to bring your child to one of the schools for testing.
Testing will be completed by preschool staff in the developmental areas identified as areas of need.
A TEAM meeting will be scheduled approximately 5 days after the testing is completed. Written test reports will be available for parents for review two days prior to the TEAM meeting.
At the TEAM meeting, the results of the testing will be discussed and your child’s eligibility for special education services will be determined. If your child is eligible for special education services, the TEAM (which includes the parents), will draft an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP).
Within 10 school days following the TEAM meeting, you will receive a final copy of your child’s IEP. Once you have signed in agreement to the IEP, your child’s services will begin on his or her third birthday.

Many parents have additional questions. Here are some common questions parents have as they go through the transition process…

Your child will undergo testing in the areas of “identified need”. For example, if your child has needs in the area of communication, he or she will be evaluated by the Speech/Language Pathologist. If there are needs in the area of cognition, he/she will be evaluated by the Preschool Teacher in the area of pre-academics; Motor concerns would be evaluated by the OT or PT.
If your child is found eligible for services, your child will be offered programming and services based on his/her level of need. For children with a low level of need, walk-in services will be offered. For those children whose needs would affect their ability to successfully participate in a typical preschool setting, a preschool program will be offered with appropriate related services (e.g. S/L,OT, PT). The number of days per week offered will again be based on level of need. We offer half day 4 day programs. For children with more intensive needs/global delays we offer full day programming (4.5 days/week).
If your child is ineligible for special education services, the good news is that your child could potentially attend one of our preschool classrooms as a general education student depending on availability of slots. If you continue to have concerns about your child’s development, the preschool teacher or related service provider(s) could recheck your child’s development in approximately 6 months. You are always welcome to call the preschool office at any point in time for further evaluation as new concerns develop.
Yes. Since most of our programming is half day, many parents need additional options for their preschoolers. It’s important to note that if you are unable to transport your child to and from preschool and need to access district van transportation, your child must be attending a private preschool or daycare within your community of residence in order to access district transportation to and from preschool.

It is our hope that you and your child feel supported through this transition process. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact us at the Preschool Office. Our contact information is:

Jennifer Henry
Early Childhood Administrator

Rebecca Sandello
Preschool Secretary

(508) 485-3176 x63104

Mary Finn School
60 Richards Rd..
Southborough, MA 01772