Special Education

Early kindergarten entrance is granted only to those four-year-olds who qualify under Jeffco Public Schools' Early Access program. Students applying for Early Access must submit an application and other supporting documentation and participate in two testing days. The application deadline is typically mid-February each year. Students must score in the 98th percentile or above in order to qualify for Early Access. For more information, visit the Jeffco Gifted and Talented page.

FHM welcomes the opportunity to benefit both students and the community by accepting students with special needs. A special needs student is any child who may require time, energy, education and programming beyond the scope of our regular program. Designated areas of special needs are as follows: physical, cognitive, social, emotional and work/study skills.

Any student with special needs must be able to function in an integrated and inclusive classroom and be able to access our core curriculum and instructional methods without the need for one-on-one extra support, which is aligned with state and federal mandates to educate students in the least restrictive environment. FHM utilizes a Learning Resource Team (LRT), which includes the following professionals: special education teacher, occupational therapist, speech therapist, psychologist and a school counselor to meet the various needs of our students. This team supports teachers in individualizing education for all students with a primary focus of supporting students who have diagnosed conditions requiring:

• Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
• Individualized Literacy Plans (ILPs)
• 504 Plans

It is our priority to meet the needs of every student enrolled to the best of our ability. For a special needs student just entering FHM, the following criteria must be followed:

1. Review of the child's most recent IEP, 504 Plan or other accommodations plan by our LRT.
2. Conversation between our LRT member(s) and/or head of school with the child's current teacher.

In addition, one or more of the following might take place, depending on the outcomes of the previous items:

1. Parent meeting with head of school, teacher and LRT representative to discuss the student’s needs and FHM’s overall ability and staffing to meet those needs. 
2. Student visitation for a minimum of one half-day to allow for teacher observation as well as evaluation of program compatibility.
3. Student observed at their current school by member(s) of the LRT and/or FHM teacher, and/or head of school.
4. If further objective assessments are necessary, parents will be asked to seek out testing and provide written reports of the student’s assessment and needs according to an objective professional (Note: this may or may not be available through FHM or Jefferson County professionals at no cost to the family.) Costs of testing beyond the scope of school/county resources are the responsibility of the student’s parents. 
5. FHM staff will collaboratively determine whether FHM's Montessori learning environment best meets the child's identified needs.
6. If enrolled, evaluation of the continued suitability of the FHM learning environment will occur on an annual basis.

Finally, and most importantly, parents should note that while FHM understands that “labeling” a disability is often necessary as part of determining educational needs, we do not believe that “labeling” serves the child in realizing his/her educational potential. Labels, whether positive or negative, limit a child’s ability to take risks outside of the externally defined expectation and in so doing inhibit the development of self-efficacy and subsequent learning. To that end, we ask adults not to use learning/ability-associated labels in our school environment.