Educational Services
At Sunshine, Early Intervention services are provided to our youngest children (newborn to age 3) by our special educator and therapists. Sunshine also provides Initial and Ongoing Service Coordination, which assures for good communication between family and providers.
The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is a statewide program that provides many different types of services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. In New York State, the Department of Health (DOH) is the lead state agency responsible for the program. Children under the age of three years old are eligible for EI if they have a disability or a developmental delay. Sunshine is contracted with the DOH as both an evaluation site and a provider of early intervention services.
Early childhood intervention plays a significant role in a child’s cognitive, physical, and social/emotional development. Sunshine has developed a warm, loving, and caring early childhood program. Our classroom environments have been specially designed to engage the children and enable them to thrive and reach their fullest potential. The children interact in activities, which include free play, hello circle, gross/fine motor activity, sensory, story time, and music.
As part of Sunshine Clubhouse for Learning and Play, our full-day pre-school program provides special education and related services to children between the ages of three to five. This is a NYS Department of Education approved early education program, licensed by The Office of Children and Family Services.
Sunshine’s Preschool Program specializes in providing educational services for multiple disabled students with complex medical conditions. These students have specific physical and cognitive challenges, and benefit from a multi-sensory developmental approach to learning. Our program follows The Creative Curriculum, complementing it with our specific style of instruction to implement appropriate educational programming tailored to the individuality of each student. Using exploration and discovery, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool enables children to develop confidence, creativity, and lifelong critical thinking skills.
Each classroom “team” of educators consists of a special education teacher and two paraprofessionals. They follow the learning objectives of each student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Our School Principal works directly with your child’s school district to ensure that all aspects of your child’s educational services are secure and adequate for his/her needs, as well as to provide administrative support. Our high staff-to-student ratio allows for each child to receive the individualized attention needed to progress toward his/her goals.
Our unique team approach involves the teaching staff, the child’s parents, as well as other specialized providers, including our Physical, Occupational, and Speech and Language therapists. The therapists work with the students during the school day, in and out of the classroom. This comprehensive team collaborates to make sure that all the specific needs of each student are met.
Each day our bright and colorful classroom invites the students in to learn and explore in a safe, creative, nurturing environment. The daily routine includes morning circle, enrichment groups and individualized instruction. Some of the weekly enrichment group activities include wheelchair dance, musical discovery, sensory exploration, and creative art.
We also offer a unique “outdoor classroom” with endless opportunities for learning and sensory exploration. Our lush, wooded, bucolic property allows for daily outdoor time with play in the adaptive playground and strolls along the nature paths, including stops at the various water features, such as our ponds with flowing fountains.
Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services has established a satellite school on the property of Sunshine to provide educational services for school-aged residents of our home. This program enables students with unique care needs to participate in a full-day school program under the medically supervised care of Sunshine’s clinical team — physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and respiratory therapists. The program follows the well-established Pines Bridge School community-based model, which serves students ages 5-21 with multiple disabilities.
The full-day program and intensive staff-to-student ratio provides a variety of learning environments to meet the cognitive, sensory, physical, emotional, and social needs of all of our children, who are challenged daily to reach their maximum potential and level of independence. Each classroom team of educators consists of a special education teacher, a teacher’s assistant, and 3-4 paraprofessionals. They follow the learning objectives of each student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). A School Principal and Team Leader are assigned to each child to work directly with your child’s school district to ensure that all aspects of his/her educational services are secure and adequate for his/her needs, as well as to provide administrative support. Sunshine RN, PT, SLP & Psychological, PLLC provide all the related services according to each student’s IEP.
