January 2025

The Freetown/Lakeville Early Childhood Center applications for 3-year-old community role model peers are now available for the 2025/2026 school year!

Role Model Criteria: Children must be residents of Freetown/Lakeville and turn age 3 by August 31, 2025. In addition, families of community peer role model students must provide transportation to and from preschool and pay tuition quarterly. Tuition assistance forms are available to eligible families at the Special Education Office located at 98 Howland Road, Lakeville, MA 02347. For further questions, please contact the Administrator, Meredith Foye at 508-763-5121 x 5201.

The Integrated Preschool Program located at Freetown Elementary School is designed to meet the needs of preschool-aged children who are residents of Freetown or Lakeville and require Special Education services. Peer role models are an essential element of the integrated preschool experience, as role model students provide children who require Special Education services the opportunity to learn skills from typically developing peers through strategically designed lessons, games, and activities.

Qualities that make an excellent community peer role model include:

*able to separate from parents

*follows directions from adults/teachers

*speaks clearly and models language for others

*shares, cooperates, is helpful and able to takes turns

*independent with self-help skills (i.e. toileting)

*can play in and accommodate to new social situations

*has age-appropriate developmental skills

*can work well in groups as well as alone

*engages in classroom activities

*transitions with flexibility to new environments/activities

The Integrated Preschool Classes at Freetown Elementary run 4 days/week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:15am-11:45am (for the 3-year-old program) and 12:45pm-3:15pm (for the 4-year-old program).

Interested parents should drop off a completed application packet at Freetown Elementary School between January 20, 2025 and February 14, 2025 anytime between 9am and 12:30pm. All children who apply will be scheduled for an in-person role model screening held in March of 2025. Following the in-person screening, parents will be notified in writing whether or not their child has been accepted into the program.

The application can be found here: https://5il.co/34w1l