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Early Learning Center opens as district hub for TK, early intervention and inclusion
Summary
The district’s Early Learning Center (ELC) staff described the new site’s role in universal TK, special education preschool services and inclusion, and reported initial enrollment, staffing and community partnerships.
Allie Long, coordinator of the district’s Early Learning Center (ELC), told the Board of Trustees on March 20 that the new ELC is serving as a central hub for universal Transitional Kindergarten (TK), early intervention (EI) special education preschool services, and bilingual preschool classrooms.
Long said the site has hosted TK classrooms drawn from multiple elementary schools and houses two special day class preschool rooms and a number of students who come to the site for individual therapies (speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy). She told trustees the ELC’s population is busy and “on and off” campus throughout the day because families attend a mix of services and sessions.
"For many of the families that I work with, this is their first experience with schools ever. And so, I take that to heart and that first year should be excellent," Long said, summarizing the site’s approach to routines, family communication and inclusion.
Long described the early intervention (EI) advantage: children receiving specialized preschool services also take part in general circles, centers and music with their peers to provide meaningful inclusion and let staff assess whether a student may thrive in a general education placement with supports. She described monthly SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) community practice meetings used to plan inclusion strategies and said the ELC will visit other programs for additional ideas.
The ELC also partners with Community Action Marin (CAM) to license and operate classrooms on the site, Long said. Demographics Long shared: roughly 90–91 total students, about 16% enrolled with IEPs (that proportion adjusts to about 6% without counting special day class enrollments), and about 81% economically disadvantaged. She said the site employs roughly 24 staff and that an additional CAM classroom was expected to open pending licensing.
Long highlighted cultural and logistical challenges typical of a new, multi‑site TK hub: multiple start/stop times, mixed cohorts from different home schools and the need to foster an ELC identity across different school communities. The site holds regular parent "cafecito" meetings to provide information and co‑solve issues; Long said those meetings have covered topics ranging from bullying prevention to digital and financial literacy.
Trustees praised the site’s bilingual front office staffing and early inclusion work, and several invited Long to present to or consult with county early learning groups. Long said the site will add a dual language TK classroom next year and continue building family engagement and tailored supports for EI families.
Nut graf: The ELC functions as a centralized TK and early‑intervention hub intended to expand inclusion opportunities, provide coordinated therapies and strengthen family connections, while the site continues to work through the logistical challenges of bringing multiple cohorts and programs together.
Ending: Long said district leaders will continue to refine procedures, expand bilingual capacity and track EI outcomes as the new site completes its first year of operation.
