The Park City School District Board of Education plans to adopt a new curriculum for special education students in preschool and early elementary. The program is called Star Autism Support.
Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said other Utah school districts use this program, which will be a first for Park City.
“We have seen an increase in students with autism, and we know that our students learn in different ways,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Thursday. “This particular program has a step-by-step lesson for our teachers, hands-on activities, tools to help students communicate and ways to check progress.”
Special Education Coordinator Kara Brechwald told the board Tuesday the program is appropriate for children with a cognitive capacity from 18 months to 9 years old.
Behavior Specialist Brittany Bly said a change to the preschool program this year helped the special education team recognize some students needed extra help.
This year, the Park City School District’s preschool team moved all education support professionals and students in special education programs under one roof.
“Putting all the students at Jeremy Ranch has really helped us see that there's a lot of need for students that have level two or three autism, which is more profound, where there's deficits in adaptive skills, communication skills, pre-learning skills,” she said.
Brechwald said Trailside Elementary also has a group of students who need similar support. Between the preschool and elementary, she said at least 10 students would benefit from the Star curriculum.
Families can learn more at a virtual conference Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. District leaders will share how the program works in classrooms and answer questions.
Huntsman said the board will likely approve the curriculum at its meeting Dec. 16 and could implement it as early as January.
