The Westlake Early Childhood Program is open to residents of the City of Westlake, and provides preschool services to children with disabilities and typically developing peers. Names are added on an ongoing basis to our waitlist for typical peers to participate as role models in all areas of development. If you are interested in your child participating in this program, call 440.250.1204 or email us to be added to the waitlist. Peer screenings are typically held in January for the following school year.

Our Philosophy

Our early childhood services are founded on the following beliefs:

• Children learn best when activities are developmentally and individually appropriate;
• Children acquire the appreciation of differences in society through the interactions with diverse groups of children and adults;
• Children learn best through play, exploration and discovery;
• The inter-relationships between the child, family and community form the core of preschool planning;
• Children need to have their basic needs met in order to fully develop their potential;
• The dispositions that children need to acquire are learned primarily from being around people who exhibit them.

We further believe that preschool programming should encompass and integrate all aspects of a child's development, including:

• self-help/independence
• social-emotional
• communication
• aesthetic
• sensory-motor
• cognitive/pre-academic

Collaborative efforts between home, school, agencies and community enhance the preschool experience, and together they assist in preparing children for their next learning environment. These efforts must support skills in decision-making, self-confidence, problem-solving, and acceptance of self and others according to their own unique needs.

What is a Peer Model?

Peer models are typically developing children, three to five years old, selected to participate within the preschool program. While benefiting from the full preschool experience, these children provide peer interaction and social motivation for the identified preschooler with a disability. Because all children learn not only from adults but also from watching and interacting with other children, peer models are an integral part of the preschool program. Peer relationships are important for the social, communicative, and cognitive development of every child.