Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Special Education Preschool is provided for children between the ages of 3 years to 5 years old who are eligible for special education and related services.  Students are served through a continuum of program options in the Least Restrictive Environment appropriate for the child. Instructional activities, specialized instruction and early childhood intervention services are provided for each child in accordance with a team developed, specialized Individualized Education Program (IEP). Related services may include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and curb-to-curb transportation. Itinerant services in an early childhood education setting are provided when appropriate. 

Eligibility for the Special Education CMSD Preschool Program requires that children: 

• Are 3 to 5 years of age and are not eligible for kindergarten* (if the 5th birthday is on or before September 30, 2020, the child is eligible for Kindergarten)

• Demonstrate a disability or exhibit significant delays 

• Documented deficits exist in one or more of the following areas :  

• Communication skills

• Motor functioning 

• Social-emotional/behavioral functioning 

• Cognitive abilities 

• Adaptive behavior 

•  Hearing or Vision as determined by a multidisciplinary team through multi-factored evaluation. 

• The goals and activities of the Special Education Preschool Program represent the cooperative efforts of early childhood intervention specialists, related service providers and parents working together. Each child’s participation in a program that provides readiness, socialization, language and literacy skills as well as meeting individual needs, prepares him or her for success in school. 

• A variety of therapies can be provided in general education preschool classrooms, self-contained preschool classrooms, at community sites or in the child’s neighborhood school. 

A parent may refer their child if they have concerns in any of the areas mentioned above.

**To be eligible for testing at the Preschool Assessment Clinic, children must be residents of Cleveland and must not turn 5 on or before September 30th of the upcoming school year (if so enroll in Kindergarten

Please contact us at the following: 

East Professional Center, 1st Floor 

1349 East 79th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44109 

Janna Head, Director, Preschool Special Education 

Office 216.838.6997 

Cell 216.230.1304 

Veronica Diggs, Special Education Outreach Coordinator - transitions from Bright Beginnings 

Veronica.Diggs@clevelandmetroschools.org

Office 216.838.1964

Cell 216.262.9972

 Nicole Bodero Baker, Administrative Assistant - Intake Coordinator for Preschool Assessments 

nicole.bodero@clevelandmetroschools.org 

Office 216.838.1963