Carrie Gosch Early Learning Center highlights special‑education testing, zero deficiencies on state visits

Principal Daria Ransper presented an overview of Carrie Gosch Early Learning Center to the School City of East Chicago Board of Trustees on April 10, 2025, describing the site as a licensed early‑learning center that provides on‑site special‑education testing and allied‑health services for children under age 5.

Ransper told the board Carrie Gosch is “the only facility for students under the age of 5 who are not yet in school where they can be tested for special education,” and that the center offers speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy and special‑education services on site. She said the state visit in February resulted in “zero insufficiencies,” which she characterized as a perfect inspection result.

Enrollment and programs: Ransper said the center has 37 students enrolled with 25 on a waiting list and that, she added, 58 students within the center’s broader population are identified as receiving special‑education services. She described classroom staffing and program configuration as seven pre‑K classes, one severe special‑education class, two special‑education resource teachers and one bilingual classroom. She also listed supports and requirements for staff, including background checks, drug testing, annual training hours and certification under the state Paths to Quality system.

Family and community engagement: Ransper described the center’s parent café and a roster of community partners — including the East Chicago Fire Department, East Chicago Police Department and the Northwest Indiana Food Council — that provide programming, safety visits, food‑access events and volunteer activities. She noted partnerships that bring student performances and library readings to the center.

Goals: Ransper said the center’s goals include advancing from its current Paths to Quality rating (reported by the principal as level 3) to the next level and maintaining the site’s role as the district’s early‑learning testing location for special‑education evaluations. She asked the board to help recruit qualified early‑childhood teachers for six vacant classrooms the center hopes to fill next year.

Why it matters: The presentation highlighted the district’s early‑learning capacity and its in‑house evaluation resources for young children with suspected disabilities — services families and referring childcare providers in East Chicago and neighboring communities rely on to begin special‑education support before kindergarten.

Ending: Principal Ransper invited board members and community members to review documentation in a binder she left for trustees and to tour the center after the meeting.