East Hartford early‑childhood program outlines services, referral process and enrollment supports

The East Hartford School District’s Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) outlined its services and referral process during the Jan. 13 Board of Education meeting, saying the program provides classroom-based early learning, therapies and family supports and uses a state tracking tool to follow children through preschool into kindergarten.

District staff described ECLC as an early‑learning program serving 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds (and some new‑entry 5‑year‑olds) with multiple state and federal funding streams. The presenter said the site offers a range of on‑site supports including speech and language pathologists, a social worker, a behavior manager, occupational and physical therapists, a resource teacher, and an evaluation team. Family support services include six family service coordinators and a family community outreach coordinator who help with enrollment and connect families to services such as internet access, job support and housing referrals.

The ECLC presenter said the site uses Creative Curriculum and phonics programs (Foundations and Heggerty) and a social‑emotional curriculum called Second Step. Staff have added a new PE curriculum this year and run extracurricular partnerships with area organizations, including the Children’s Museum and a storytelling association. The presenter said monthly family outreach includes goal‑setting contacts, parent workshops, literacy nights, and monthly coffee hours.

On referrals, the presenter explained that some come from Birth‑to‑3 transition meetings: state rules require Birth‑to‑3 providers to contact the school district within 90 days before a child’s third birthday to coordinate transition and hold a first placement meeting. Other referrals come from parents via the state Sparkler app and from school‑readiness partners in the community. The presenter identified Caitlin McDonald as the district contact who receives community referral information and shepherds the family through the intake process.

The presenter also described the Sparkler/“Ages and Stages” process: when a parent completes the Ages and Stages questionnaire via the state’s Sparkler app, ECLC staff receive an automated email and a staff member reaches out. If a child is evaluated and does not qualify for services, the district is required to follow up within six months to re‑check concerns and encourage re‑screening.

Staff provided numerical context drawn from the presentation: the presenter said the ECLC building currently serves about 350 students and may reach roughly 400 by year’s end; the program reported receiving 49 referrals in the prior calendar year and servicing 66 students with special‑education classifications on site. The presenter described four integrated half‑day special education classrooms (counted as eight session‑blocks) and two self‑contained half‑day special education classrooms (counted as four session‑blocks), and noted the building’s screening process for community families once per month.

The presentation closed with staff noting ECLC’s role as an entry point to East Hartford Public Schools: “This is typically the first contact that some of our families have had with the East Hartford Public Schools,” the presenter said, emphasizing the program’s coordination with Birth‑to‑3 providers and community partners.

Board members asked clarifying questions about referral sources and the state Sparkler tool; staff responded with the descriptions above and identified the internal contact for referrals.

District officials did not propose a formal action on the ECLC item at this meeting; the presentation was informational.