USD116 is celebrating 50 years of Early Childhood Education in Urbana and the 10th Anniversary of UECS. You’re invited to join:
- Thursday, November 9
- 5 p.m. (Tours at 5:30)
- UECS
History of Early Childhood
The Early Childhood program started in 1973 with one teacher, one assistant, and a part-time psychologist at Wiley school. The program served 22 students.
In 1977, a grant funded by ISBE allowed the program to expand to 100 children, and included parent training and activities.
The program expanded further and moved to Washington school in 1989. During the 1990-91 school year, Urbana Early Childhood adopted the model of full inclusion, no longer separating students with special needs and students without. This model continues today.
The Multilingual early childhood approach was added in 1991, to encourage families to develop and maintain their child’s home language.
In 1998, Urbana Early Childhood Program was accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. This award recognizes our compliance with nationally recognized criteria for high quality early childhood programs.
In 2013, the current Urbana Early Childhood School was opened.
