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Early Learning Center director outlines expansion, inclusion and preschool services
Summary
Thor Bichai told the Franklin Pierce board the Early Learning Center serves about 400 preschoolers with Head Start, ECAP and district preschool slots, significant special-education supports, and a proposal to expand inclusion classrooms and add transitional kindergarten pending DCYF and OSPI approvals.
Thor Bichai, director of the Humans Early Learning Center, gave a detailed presentation to the Franklin Pierce School District board on March 18 about the center’s programs, student mix and a proposed expansion to increase inclusion and add transitional kindergarten.
Bichai said the ELC serves roughly 400 children, many of whom live inside district boundaries but some of whom come from outside because the center accepts Head Start and ECAP-funded students. “We are also the Part B provider for Franklin Pierce School District,” he said, describing screening and evaluation processes for students suspected of having disabilities and noting there is no fee to families for general or special education services at the center.
He outlined the center’s blended funding: approximately 114 Head Start slots and 102 ECAP state-funded slots, plus district-funded community preschool spaces. Bichai described a peer-inclusion model, begun about four years ago, that mixes Head Start students with children who would otherwise be in self-contained special-education classrooms; he said inclusion classrooms have led to different trajectories for many children, with about 80% of formerly self-contained students entering general education by kindergarten in recent cohorts.
Bichai proposed shifting to a model of all inclusion classrooms and extending program hours to help working families, and said the district is awaiting DCYF approval for preschool expansion and OSPI approval to add TK. “We want all of our classrooms to be inclusion classrooms,” he said, and added the district is seeking a 70/30 ratio (70% general education, 30% special education) across settings.
Board members and staff asked clarifying questions about session scheduling, transportation constraints, and how the district manages meal service and therapeutic interventions. Bichai detailed classroom schedules (two daily 2.5-hour sessions for some groups), the importance of self-regulation supports, and the center’s family support services, which include specialists who help families access housing, food and medical resources.
Bichai said procedural approvals from DCYF and OSPI are required before the proposed changes take effect and invited board members to submit follow-up questions. The board took no immediate action beyond receiving the presentation.
