1st Integrated Preschool Launches In Long Valley’s District

LONG VALLEY, NJ — About 15 Washington Township children will be picked in a Feb. 28 lottery for a new integrated preschool program that begins Sept. 1.

About 15 general education students will be chosen from program applications in the lottery drawing at 11 a.m., according to a news release from the district.

About five special education students will be in the class, said Denise Scairpon, the district’s director of special education/related services. Such students will not need to be selected through the lottery.

Names will be drawn in the Long Valley Middle School Performing Arts Center. Parent attendance was not mandatory.

The monthly preschool tuition will be $400 for a half-day program and $800 for a full-day program, payable in 10 installments.

For the full-day program, parents will need to pack lunch for their children each day, Scairpon said.

The half-day morning session will run from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The afternoon session will go from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The full-day program will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Transportation will not be provided for nonclassified students.

A dual-certified special education and P-3 general education teacher will lead the class, along with a teaching assistant. Small and large group activities will take place every day, and classes will include circle time, gym, library activities, music and time to play outdoors.

Activities have been selected under New Jersey's Department of Education preschool and teaching learning expectations guidelines.

The program at the Benedict A. Cucinella Elementary School is something the Washington Township Schools have been exploring for a while, Scairpon told Patch in a phone interview. Research supported the benefits of integrating general education and classified students in one class, she added.

Scairpon was one of the teachers who helped to bring back a special education preschool exclusively to Washington township in 1987, she said. The program was previously a consortium among Washington township, Mendham and Chester students.

There has already been great interest in the program since it was announced Friday, Scairpon added. She has received many calls from parents who told her they feel the program is priced much lower than private preschools in the area. About five families had already mailed their applications as of Monday, she said.

Eligibility For The Lottery

Children need to be 3 years old by Sept. 1 to qualify. Click here for the application, which needs to be submitted by at 3 p.m. Feb. 21 at the board of education office, 53 W. Mill Road.

Families chosen from the lottery will need to provide “an original birth certificate and three proofs of residency,” the school district said.

Enrolling In The Program

Once children are picked in the lottery, the district will need parents to send their child's immunization records and a physical form completed by the child's pediatrician.

The district will contact families for a screening appointment to take place during the week of March 7. Following the appointment, a second lottery could be held on March 14.

All decisions will be finalized, and parents will be notified about their child’s final selection into the program by March 28.

Contact Scairpon with additional questions at 908-876-3434, ext. 2300, or email at dscairpon@wtschools.org.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.