By Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post

The St. Joseph School District Early Childhood Department will begin developmental screenings at the end of the month.

District preschool programs serve 4-year-old children who turn 4 by August 1, 2019.

The required screening is the first step for those interested in SJSD preschool programs.

SJSD Coordinator of Early Childhood Services Mary Fleming said there are several dates available in the spring to set up an appointment for the screenings for 3 and 4-year-old children in St. Joseph.

“First they work with a nurse to do a health, vision and hearing screening, then they move over and work with a parent educator who does some tasks with them from the DIAL Assessment – motor tasks, some questions that are kind of cognitive tasks and some language tasks and then the kids get to go play for a little while,” Fleming said. “We score those screenings and sit down and chat with the parents about what we found. It’s just good to know where your kids are at because we’ll have some information there about whatever level you find that your child is performing at, some things you can do at home with them.”

Fleming said there are some things parents or guardians can do to prepare their future preschooler for the screening.

“I would tell them to chat with their little person about just trying to be comfortable, they’re basically just going to interact with some grownups that they don’t know yet, but we’re used to dealing with little children,” Fleming said. “They might have a chat with the nurse, it will be kind of like going to a doctors appointment… and they’re basically going to play some little games with somebody and when it’s all over they get to go play.”

Fleming said the screenings should take about an hour and a half and parents or guardians should bring shot records, a birth certificate and proof of residency.

Dates and times for screenings are:

Feb. 28 – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

March 1 – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

March 2 – 8 a.m. to noon

March 4 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

March 5 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

March 6 – 8 a.m. to noon

Screenings take place at the Keatley Center, 1202 South 28th Street in St. Joseph.

For more information or to make an appointment, click here or call (816) 671-4000.