CONTACT: Lori Kellogg, EI/ECSE Coordinator
Northwest Regional ESD
Phone: 503-614-1274
E-Mail: lorik@nwresd.k12.or.us
THE PROGRAM
Since 1992, a special kind of learning has taken place at Tualatin High School. It’s the kind of learning that occurs when different age groups interact to share activities and quality time together. At Tualatin High, students spend part of their day learning from preschoolers and vice-versa.
The popular Teens & Tots Preschool Program is a collaborative partnership between the Tigard-Tualatin School District and Northwest Regional
ESD.
THE TEENS
High school students taking classes in child development visit the preschool classroom as part of their lab. During their visit, they assist teacher Karen Grayum in leading group activities and tending to individual students as needed while they observe different behavior and learning patterns in the young children. High school students are required to implement a lesson plan as part of the curriculum, making adaptations as needed for special education students.
Students say they appreciate the opportunity to work directly with young children to
understand their different needs. “I enjoy learning positive ways to direct the children and help them,” said junior Kristin Irvine, who is interested in a career in psychology. “I’m definitely going to take the class again next year.”
THE TOTS
Six of the 18 preschoolers are eligible for the ESD’s Early Childhood Special Education Services. Educational assistant Molly O’Harrow has worked in the Tualatin High preschool since the Teen & Tots program started.
“The high school students bring vitality and a sense of fun to the preschool,” said Grayum. “Some come into the class and think it’s going to be really easy and learn it’s pretty hard. But in the process, they learn an awful lot about early childhood development and the little preschoolers learn so much from their peers.”
CULTIVATING FUTURE TEACHERS
In working with children with disabilities, high school students are able to learn about different career occupations such as physical therapy and speech/language pathology. Lori Kellogg, an EI/ECSE Coordinator at NWRESD, said presentations on special education needs are occasionally given to high school students to foster greater awareness of potential careers that exist in special education.
Teacher Karen Grayum said many of the high school students who decide to continue with the program want to become teachers themselves. Others find out early on that teaching young children isn’t for them.
“I think this is a great program,” she said. “Teenagers like the class, and parents like their preschoolers interacting with the teens. It’s really a plus-plus all around.”
Learn more about the early childhood development curriculum at Tualatin High School
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