Early Childhood FAQ

Our office is by APPOINTMENT ONLY, Monday-Friday 8:00 AM -4:00 PM.  We follow the school calendar for breaks and recesses. Please note during the summer we are closed on Fridays.

Main Phone: 602-467-6013

Registrar: 602-467-6011

Office Fax: 602-467-6019

View the DVUSD Boundary Maps.

The state of Arizona defines preschool age as a child “who is at least three years of age but who has not reached the required age for kindergarten” (five by September 1st) according to Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 15-761(22).

Children need to be 3 in order to start in August.  However, anytime during the school year your child can start the program once they have turned three.  Children are accepted throughout the school year.  Once you have been approved you will receive information about registering with the district and the school you have been approved to attend.

Twitter: DVUSD_EC

Friend us on Facebook: DVUSD Early Childhood

Developmental Preschool provides inclusive preschool classrooms with support and services for both age-appropriate children, as well as, those children who have been identified as having special education needs. Each of our developmental preschool classrooms is taught by a certified early childhood teacher, who is also certified in special education. They have 2 assistants or paraprofessionals in the room with them along with the therapist that comes to work with the special needs children. Each developmental preschool classroom can have a maximum of 15 students per session, this is a mix of special needs and peer role models. The developmental preschool sessions are 2.5 hours a day, Monday-Thursday. We do not hold developmental preschool on Fridays. The hours vary depending on the campus.

In each of our developmental preschool classrooms, we have a maximum of 15 students per session, with each teacher having a morning and afternoon session. These 15 students in a mixture of both special needs and age-appropriate peer role models.

A great place to review milestones by age is the CDC website. Click this link to review milestones by age on the CDC website. You can also speak to your child’s pediatrician if you have questions or concerns regarding developmental milestones.

Yes. After your child has been screened in all areas, one of the screening team members will discuss the results of the screening with you. They may tell you that your child is age-appropriate in all areas or that your child is being referred for an evaluation for consideration of possible special education services. Additionally, they may advise that your child be rescreened in a few months.

All of our developmental preschool programs are 2.5 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. There is no class on Friday. The developmental preschools start and end times vary depending on the campus. Each of our developmental preschools is on one of our school campuses, so the start and end times are determined by the start and end times of the school campus. Most of our preschool classes start 15- 30 minutes after the main bell. The afternoon sessions then get out either 10-15 minutes before or at the same time as the main bell.

If your child is referred for an evaluation following a child find screening or from Arizona Early Intervention (AzEIP) referral, your home school, or the school within the boundaries you live in, will complete the evaluation. The Early Childhood Office will notify your home school about the referral for an evaluation. The home school will contact you within 2-3 weeks to discuss your child and schedule the evaluation. Please note this 2-3 week time frame does not account for school recess like Winter Break.

Screening procedures shall include vision and hearing status and consideration of the following areas:  cognitive, communication,  motor, social, and adaptive development. 

Your child will be meeting with early childhood teachers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech pathologists, and paraprofessionals while being screened. This process can take anywhere from 60-120 minutes depending on the needs of the child. 

We ask that parents wait in the waiting area while we screen all the different developmental areas. We understand that sometimes children will not separate from their parents. Should this occur please feel free to start with your child but return to the waiting area once they become comfortable with the staff.

The process of getting your child special education services can take some time, and every child's timeline may look a little different depending on their needs. 

The home school campus will contact you in a few weeks after the child find screening or AzEIP referral. Your home school team will schedule the Comprehensive Developmental Assessment (CDA) with you.  After that in-person CDA (evaluation), they have 60 days to hold the next meeting called a MET, where they will review the results of the evaluation with you. At this meeting, you will learn if your child qualifies for special education services. 

If your child qualifies for special education services, the service school team has 30 days from the date you sign the initial placement statement to hold the IEP meeting. The service school team will review the goals your child will be working towards, and discuss how many minutes a month each service provider will be working towards those goals.

By filling out the Screening Interest Form. If you have further questions please email us.

Please note you can only attend a child find screening if you reside with DVUSD. If you reside within another district you must be screened with that district.

The first step to see if a preschool-aged child is eligible for special education services is to attend a Child Find Screening. We can only screen children of families who reside within DVUSD boundaries. Your child must be at least 2 years 10 months to be screened and have not yet reached the required age for kindergarten, 5 by September 1st.

The full-day programs currently overseen by our office include Head Start & Early Head Start. These programs are funded through  federal resources/state grants. At this time, we do not have the authorization to allow a family to pay for a space in one of these full-day programs. 

Developmental concerns include delays or abnormal patterns of development in the areas of communication/language, motor skills, problem-solving, or social and adaptive behavior. These concerns are usually based on comparison to other children the same age.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has very informative information on their website regarding milestones by age. Link: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

Beyond the preschool program that our office oversees there is another department in DVUSD called Community Education that oversees preschool programs as well as the before and after school programs. You can learn more about their programs by visiting their webpage.

If your child is on an IEP and you would prefer to attend a school other than the service school our office has assigned your child to,  you may apply for open enrollment. If approved for open enrollment bus transportation is not available. A peer can attend any school that has a space for a peer. If applying for a full-day program you are welcome to state your preferred campus, but it will depend on availability. 

If you reside outside of DVUSD and your child has an IEP you are welcome to apply for open enrollment. Open enrollment is all based on availability. To apply for open enrollment please contact our office via phone at 602-467-6013, or email us to obtain a preschool open enrollment form.

If your child qualifies for special education and is placed in a developmental preschool classroom then we can add transportation as a related service. The bus can pick up children only from homes, apartments, or daycares inside the district boundaries. If your child qualifies for special education services transportation will be discussed at the IEP meeting. 

Children who are preschool peer role models, or those enrolled in one of our full-day programs do not have the option to ride a bus at this time.

After your child has been approved by our office to be a preschool peer role model we will send you via email instructions on how to register your child and set up your account with Eleyo, which is the website we use to send the monthly invoices. Every family needs to sign up for automatic payments but if you need to change the payment method on file you can log into your account to do so. The DVUSD Eleyo page is https://deervalley.ce.eleyo.com/.

Every IEP will have an LRE or Least Restrictive Environment. The IEP team sets the LRE. In basic terms, LRE refers to the setting where a child with a disability can receive an appropriate education designed to meet his or her educational needs, alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. If your child is found to be eligible for special education services and a developmental preschool classroom is the location of this service the LRE will typically fall into two different categories. Either a general education classroom that has half IEP children and half peers or a special education classroom that has more special needs students than peers. The sessions of each developmental preschool classroom are determined to be either general education or special education, so the LRE on your child’s IEP must match the session placement.

Inside the developmental preschool locations, we have children who have special needs and children who are age appropriate and full-potty trained. These age-appropriate children are peers. This is a tuition-based program, with the option to attend 3 or 4 days a week.

You can learn more about the peer role model program by visiting the peer role model section on our webpage.

The first step is to fill out the interest form located on our website. After the interest form has been completed either mail or drop by our office to pay the $25.00 application fee. This can be paid via cash or check. If paying with a check please make it payable to DVUSD. If paying with cash we ask that you bring exactly $25 as we do not always have change. At this time we do not have a way to take payment over the phone or online. Returning peers do not have to pay the application fee. 

All new preschool peer role models must attend a preschool peer screening. Once you have paid the application fee you will be provided with the information for the screening process.

The interest form opens in late mid February for the next school year.  Our office starts sending out acceptance emails to new and returning peers after spring break, normally around the end of March or early April. If school is already in session you will be informed within 3 schools days after the peer screening if your child met the criteria to be a peer role model and what school they were placed into.

Of course, both departments want the best for your child, and to see them succeed. Both programs are licensed and regulated by the state of Arizona.  All of the programs follow a curriculum that is age appropriate and aligns with the Arizona Department of Education standards. 

Our developmental preschool teachers are licensed in both early childhood education and special education. Our classrooms have at least 1 assistant, with our developmental preschool classrooms having 2 assistants. Our developmental preschool, Head Start, and full-day grant programs are free to those who qualify. Preschool peer role models pay tuition but the tuition is lower than the Community Education preschool programs. The decision to select a program with the Early Childhood Office versus Community Education will depend on which program would best fit the needs of your child and your family.

If your child is on an IEP and you would prefer to attend a school other than the service school our office has assigned your child to,  you may apply for open enrollment. If approved for open enrollment bus transportation is not available. A peer can attend any school that has a space for a peer. If applying for a full-day program you are welcome to state your preferred campus, but it will depend on availability. 

If you reside outside of DVUSD and your child has an IEP you are welcome to apply for open enrollment. Open enrollment is all based on availability. To apply for open enrollment please email us to obtain a preschool open enrollment form.

If your child qualifies for special education and is placed in a developmental preschool classroom then we can add transportation as a related service. The bus can pick up children only from homes, apartments, or daycares inside the district boundaries. If your child qualifies for special education services transportation will be discussed at the IEP meeting. 

Children who are preschool peer role models, or those enrolled in one of our full-day programs do not have the option to ride a bus at this time.

Of course, both departments want the best for your child, and to see them succeed. Both programs are licensed and regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. All of the programs follow a curriculum that is age appropriate that aligns with the Arizona Department of Education standards. 

Our developmental preschool teachers are licensed in both early childhood education and special education. Our classrooms have at least 1 assistant in the classroom, with our developmental preschool classrooms having 2 assistants. Our developmental preschool, Head Start, and full-day grant programs are free to those who qualify. Preschool peer role models do pay tuition but the tuition is much lower than the community education preschool programs.

Yes. Beyond the preschool program that our office oversees, there is another department in DVUSD called Community Education that oversees preschool programs as well as the before and after-school programs. You can find out more about their programs by visiting their webpage.

The full-day programs currently overseen by our office include Head Start, Early Childhood Education Expansion, and High Quality Early Learning. These are programs funded through various sources including federal resources and state grants. At this time, we do not have the authorization to allow a family to pay for a space in one of these full-day programs. Please watch this webpage and our social media for any updates or changes regarding this policy.