Screening

Screening Process for Preschool Aged Children

As our responsibility for Child Find, and to meet the needs of the three grant programs in West Aurora, screenings will take place four times throughout the school year and over the summer. Screenings for children ages 3-5 are made by appointment with the Early Learning Academy office (630)301-5016. Screenings for children 0-3, will be completed during the screening process when families show up with younger children. Prior to participating in screenings, all families must complete the district registration process. 

REGISTER HERE

Following your Child's registration, you will receive a phone call to schedule a preschool screening appointment. A family questionnaire will be emailed to the family before the screening appointment, we ask that you complete these questionnaires prior to your child's screening. Any family wanting their child to participate in a West Aurora Preschool program, must complete a screening first to determine if the child is eligible for one of our programs. At the time of the screening, we will also notify families if we are placing children in the program or if the child will be put on a wait list for a spot in the program. Please note that we do have limited program availability and waiting lists do exist for our programs throughout the school year.

 

What should parents bring to a screening?

 

Our program is funded by grants from the state of Illinois. We are required to collect proof of income for all families. For your child to enroll in one of our classrooms you must provide ONE of the following documents for proof of income. 

• The two most recent paycheck stubs for all working adults in the household
• Proof that your family receives public benefits (Medical card in the parent's name, WIC, SNAP, CCAP, TANF)
• Your most recent tax return

For questions, call 630-301-5016. 

Screening Tools used at Early Learning Academy:

The West Aurora Early Childhood program will utilize the Ages and Stages Questionnaire/w Social Emotional (ASQ-SE) for all preschool screenings. The tool will be utilized based on the chronological age of the child, which will be determined from their birth certificate. Each child will have a formal ASQ-SE completed. This tool will determine the areas of strength and possible areas of further assessment required. The ASQ-SE provides reliable and accurate developmental information for your preschool child. We will be able to better understand your child's areas of strength and work to provide support if needed in other developmental domains. The ASQ-SE will questions about:

• Motor Development: Gross Motor (large muscle skills) & fine Motor (small muscle skills)
   
• Cognitive Development: Problem solving, persistence, early learning pre-academics
   
• Social-Emotional Development: Relationships, interactions with others, managing emotions, and taking turns
   
• Language Development: Receptive Language (understanding of words) & Expressive
   
• Language (ability to produce words/sounds)

The questions will be asked with the parent/guardian and the child. Parents/guardians will respond with Yes this happens all the time, Sometimes, or Not yet. Once the screening is completed, results will be shared and discussed in each of the areas of development. Further information about the reliability, importance, and structure of the ASQ can be found at https://agesandstages.com/about-asq/

If you would like to see a sample of the ASQ, you can click the link below to review the screening tool:

SAMPLE HERE

If you have any questions or developmental concerns for your child and want to discuss these more, please feel free to call the Early Learning Academy office at any time 630-301-5016. We can discuss these and determine the next steps for your child and family.

preLAS: The preLAS is an English language proficiency assessment for early learners that enables our programs to access both English and/or Spanish to identify students’ academic strengths and instructional needs.

Hearing and Vision Screening: This is a quick assessment to test the child’s hearing and vision. It is administered by a registered nurse. Further referrals may be made based on screening results or parental concerns. Hearing and Vision screenings will take place once a child is placed in the program. 

Referral for Evaluation: Based on the results of the preschool screening, parent/guardian interview, and information collected, a child may be referred to our Assessment Clinic for further evaluation in various developmental areas. This team will communicate with the family of the screening and review the information collected. These evaluations would take place at a separate date and time and will be scheduled directly with the parent/guardian.