Visit the Classrooms

Enrollment

Children with special needs are enrolled in the Little Mustangs Preschool Academy after the development of an Individualized Education Plan and the determination that participation in the program is appropriate to meet the needs of the child.

Integrated Preschool Classrooms

The Little Mustangs Preschool Academy is an early childhood program for children living in Norwood that will be turning 3 or 4 years old by August 31 of the year participating. Most of our classrooms are “integrated.” These classrooms provide a safe environment that is designed to meet the needs of children with and without disabilities in the same setting. In the classroom, children may participate in small group or one-to-one sessions to develop speech, language, gross motor or fine motor skills. Depending upon each student’s particular needs, these sessions may occur in the classroom, therapy room, on the playground or in a small group setting.  All of our classrooms use principles based on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). ABA is a method of teaching which uses systematic reinforcement and simple language.  It provides multiple opportunities for errorless learning for continual successful skill acquisition throughout the child’s day.

Classroom instruction is differentiated in all of our classrooms.  This means we deliver instruction at a variety of levels, based on each child’s needs, in order to ensure that all students have opportunities for enrichment. Our teachers capitalize on the peer partner models by providing opportunities for academic learning and discovery though social interactions. Peer partner programs enable all children involved to learn and discover at their own developmental rate. Children in our integrated classrooms learn to develop empathy and understanding for individual differences in others.

Peer Role Models

• Child must be 3 years old by August 31st of the year participating
• Child may not have identified special needs
• Children must demonstrate strong language skills
• Parents assume responsibility for monthly tuition payments, following the payment schedule provided with their enrollment application.
• Children must be toliet trained
• Peer Role Model slots are awarded by a lottery held in January of each year.  Upon acceptance into the LMPA, parents are required to return a non-refundable deposit to the school to hold their slot into the program.  It is the parents’ responsibility to pay the monthly tuition bill on time. Bills can be paid each month at the LMPA.
• The number of students enrolled in each classroom is determined by the Massachusetts State regulations and by the space available. Each integrated classroom can have up to 15 students. Eight of these slots are reserved for peer role models.  The staff-to-child ratio is regulated by the Department of Education.  Our integrated classroom has one teacher with two instructional aides.

PACS Classroom- (Practical Application of Curriculum and Skills)

The PACS classroom addresses students with more significant communication, sensory integration, socialization and cognitive concerns.  Specialized small group instruction in the areas of Speech and Language,   Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy are included into each child’s program.   Consultations of these services are provided on a regular basis to integrate these specialized services throughout each school day.  Opportunities to integrate students into the integrated classrooms are available as much as possible.  The classroom operates on the theory of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).  A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) supervises the classroom and the programs.

The staffing model in our PACS classroom varies year-to-year, depending on the number and level of need of our students.