Inclusion

In accordance with the policy statement of the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education, Brookline Sprouts Preschool and Daycare policy promotes inclusion while reducing suspension and expulsion.

Please see the Family Handbook on the parent resources page on the Brookline Sprouts website to read the public-facing inclusion policy at Brookline Sprouts.

For more information, read below:

Brookline Sprouts staff are encouraged to regularly provide information about local services, and to offer additional support and service recommendations and referrals when appropriate or if parents/families ask for assistance. Staff should check with administrators to ensure that their service recommendations and presentation of these offerings are appropriate if they are unsure. When these resources are shared, record of receipt of the resources are kept in childrens' files.

If children have established services which include support staff or therapists, they should be allowed into the building after stating their name and purpose for being there. Staff should then ask for identification, and encourage them to record their attendance via a visitor/therapist log, which are located near the Sprouts door and on top of the mailboxes in the upstairs classroom.

Professional development and special training is provided to all staff. Records of training can be found in staff files, meeting minutes from staff meetings, and in PA Keys. Information about common disabilities is also shared with staff on a regular basis on Slack channels that all staff have access to, and staff have access to community resources that are shared with parents. Staff are also encouraged to seek out additional education on their own, and to share educational opportunities with other staff members.

Parents/guardians are asked to provide copies of childrens' IEPS, and lessons are planned in accordance to attending childrens' IEP recommendations and needs. Staff are welcome to request administrator assistance with this task, and may go into the office and view the IEPS, which are stored in the child's files, at any time, provided that they do not break ratio to do so, and do not disseminate the childrens' private information inappropriately. Brookline Sprouts staff should also contribute to IEP meeting resource gathering by sharing information with special education teachers, parents, and other supportive professionals as needed.

If a staff member thinks that a general accommodation or modification should be added to a classroom, they should use their judgement in the moment to manage the children and classroom appropriately, then present this topic to an administrator or post a message in Slack as soon as they can.