Child development agency touts personal attention
Staff Writer
Circle of Learning, a developmental preschool, recently opened a third location in the Caribou area, at 319 South Caribou Road in Fort Fairfield. An open house was held in honor of the occasion, giving local parents a look at what goes on at the facility.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Andrew Dyer
Julio Lopez, right, along with Erica Jortberg, teacher at the new Circle of Learning location, are shown playing a game designed to aid in a child’s development. The new location on the Fort Fairfield Road is the third Circle of Learning center in the Caribou area aiding children from 2-8 years of age.
Renovations at the new location began in October of 2006, with programs beginning in May of 2007.
The center currently has four students, with four teachers: Cathy Cyr, Erica Jortberg, Elaine Moody and Sheila Caldwell under the direction of Kori Ellis. With such a low ratio of students per teacher Circle of Learning is able to ensure that each students receives a great deal of attention, enabling staff to focus on each child’s individual learning style.
Circle of Learning is designed to aid children ages 2-8 in development through a multi-faceted approach. The center offers services and amenities such as: a private preschool program, special purpose classrooms, home-based family training, an applied behavioral analysis classroom, individual developmental therapy, a developmental therapy behavioral classroom, an itinerant teaching program, speech therapy services, applied behavioral analysis and positive behavioral supports consultation and training and developmental evaluations.
Through this approach Circle of Learning staff hope to provide each child and their family with information, skills, support and planned interaction through classroom work, community field trips and home visits to enhance the child’s development.
Teachers at the center provide language and sensory-based programming, using a systematic approach to encourage development of social skills as well as self help skills.
The private preschool also teaches literacy through a phonics-based program, through aids such as rhyming, sound and letter correspondence and word segmentation.
Through the applied behavioral analysis Circle of Learning teachers are able to assess each child’s individual needs in the areas of cognition, physical including vision and hearing, communication, social, emotional and their ability to adapt. The center then uses this information to develop an individual plan for each child including goals.
In order to reach these goals Circle of Learning staff work closely with speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, a licensed social worker, developmental therapists, special education teachers and a special education school consultant.
For more information visit the Web site at www.circleoflearning.net or call the new facility at 472-3456.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Andrew Dyer
Julia Lopez, right and Brady Gagnon are shown playing in a tub filled with popcorn kernels, one of the many developmental activities offered at the new Circle of Learning location on the Fort Fairfield Road. The new location recently held an open house showcasing the center and staff members. Circle of Learning is a developmental preschool, which offers family planning, speech therapy, developmental therapy, behavioral analysis and much more, for children ages 2-8.
