Early Childhood Services
The Ridgefield School District offers early childhood screening and assessment of children from birth through age 5 in the areas of fine and gross motor skills, communication, cognitive or thinking skills, social skills and adaptive skills. Screenings and evaluations for infant/toddlers (birth to 3) will be conducted by a family resource coordinator. Children from age 3 to 5 who qualify for services are served in our early learning preschool classrooms. Early intervention/preschool services for eligible children may include special education services speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy, as determined by their individual needs. Call the Special Education Office at (360) 619-1348 for more information.
School-Aged Students
Parents of children with a suspected disability from Kindergarten to age 21 can contact the school psychologist in their neighborhood school. If the student qualifies according to Washington State regulations, he/she may access special education programs appropriate to the needs. Parents of students moving into the district with a current Individualized Educational Program (IEP) are encouraged to notify the school psychologist before they enroll in their neighborhood school.
Ridgefield School District offers a full spectrum of services for those students eligible for special education. Most students with disabilities benefit from a special educator providing specially designed instruction within the general education classroom or in a small group in a resource room. Students who need more support may be served in a more specialized educational environment and will also benefit from being included in the general education setting whenever appropriate to their learning plan. Psychology, speech and language, vision, hearing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing services and assistive technology services are available to students in each building, as needed.
Post-High School Students
Some students will remain in school until June of their 21st year. Ridgefield School District provides a blend of school and community based services. Some students will move to full community based programs provided by the Ridgefield Transition Program (RTP).
Child Find Procedures
The district conducts Child Find activities for the purpose of locating, evaluating, and identifying students with a suspected disability who are residing within district boundaries, students living outside the district boundary but who qualify for McKinney/Vento homeless services, and students who live outside of district boundaries but attend a private school within the district. Child Find activities apply to children who are not currently receiving special education and related services. Parents having concerns about their child’s health, hearing, intellectual functioning, language, learning, movement, serious behavioral needs, speech or vision can call their child’s school.
