Washington School will offer Early Childhood Screening for children who turned three years of age by January 1, 2024, and four and five-year-olds who have not been screened. Any child who meets the age requirement and is currently enrolled in the Crookston school district is eligible. The screenings will take place on Wednesday, March 6, and Thursday, March 7, at Washington School from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.
“This is a requirement from the state of Minnesota,” said Washington School Principal Denice Oliver, “From the Minnesota Department of Education, and they highly encourage us to start screening at age three. The screening aims to identify possible conditions that could affect the child’s ability to learn and develop.” Suppose any development issues are detected during screenings. In that case, the school will be able to address the families of the students and ultimately enroll the children in services that would help them become more successful.
The types of screenings that will take place include the Development Screener (also known as the Dial), which gauges height, weight, vision, hearing, speech, and language. When the child enters the screening, the parent(s) will be present the entire time. Oliver explains that the screening is not an indicator of future intelligence but merely a measurement of where they are developmentally. “It’s really not a predictor of future intelligence,” said Oliver, “It’s not an I.Q. test. There’s no pass or fail; it’s basically us looking for if a child needs extra support to develop.” The parents will also complete a social and emotional survey, which will be able to detect any child’s behavioral issues.
The early childhood educators in the Crookston school district will conduct the screenings; a Polk County Public Health nurse will also be present. Every child who participates will be given a backpack that contains arts and crafts goodies. Washington School recently received grant funding which allowed the purchase of these products. “We were able to get all of these materials through an Otto Bremer Foundation grant,” said Oliver, “And all of the supplies here are free, and they can take them home. These were all intentionally selected as activities children can do to prepare for kindergarten.”
If parents want to sign their children up for any preschool and kindergarten programs, their child must be screened by the statecreened. Programs such as E.C.F.E. and School Readiness also require screening. “If we miss them in March, we do an early August screening,” said Oliver, “So that we can catch those people who have signed up for our programs that haven’t been screened yet.”
The estimated time to go through the screening process is between 30 and 60 minutes. Every screening opportunity provided by the school is free. To schedule a screening appointment or for more information regarding the screenings, call 218-281-5078 or email lorimorgan@isd593.org
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