Early Childhood Blended Program

Our early childhood education program is designed to support the pre-academic, functional, and social-emotional needs of students who qualify for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and are at least 3 years old. With the addition of the blended classroom setting, we are able to offer a more traditional Pre-K experience that is designed to serve students who have been identified through our screening process as benefiting from an early childhood program to prepare them for kindergarten. Additionally, those students who already qualify for an IEP will also have the opportunity to attend either the blended program or the traditional self-contained early childhood classroom based on their individualized needs.

Our Blended ECE Program is currently full. Please call 309-444-3943 ext. 2411 if you would like to be added to our waiting list.

At Central School District 51, we take great care to encourage excellence everyday with compassion, commitment, and community.

Early Childhood Screenings

Fall screenings will be held at Central Primary School, usually in October. Screenings are free and open to children ages 2 years, 9 months to 5 years (not yet in Kindergarten), who reside in Central School District 51. This screening is not meant for children who are currently enrolled in the Early Childhood Blended classroom. Instead, this screening is intended for children who may have possible developmental delays in the following areas:

Cognitive Development-- reasoning, thinking, problem solving
Daily Living--self-help skills such as eating, dressing, and toileting
Motor Development--use and control of large and small muscles
Personal/Social Skills--interacting with others
Communication--ability to express thoughts and understand the words of others

At the screening, your child will work with our Early Childhood Screening Team to complete a snapshot of skills in those areas. The results of this screening and the family information provided by you are used to determine placement. If a developmental delay is suspected in one or more areas, the school team will schedule a transdisciplinary play-based assessment to identify whether or not your child qualifies for early childhood special education services.

Please contact the Central District 51 Special Education Office with any questions at 309-444-3943, ext. 2411.

2026-2027 Screening Dates Click HERE to sign up!

Fall Screening -October 22, 2026
Spring Screening-March 11-12, 2027.
Students must reside within Central School District 51.

Understanding Our Early Childhood Waitlist

We know waiting for services can be stressful, so we wanted to share a little more about why our early childhood waitlist sometimes grows or shrinks — it's not random, and it's not a sign that something's wrong. It usually comes down to two things:

1. Early Intervention Referrals- Before kids turn 3, many are referred to Early Intervention (EI) for an assessment. When more families get referred in a given month — maybe after well-child checkups, or through community outreach — more kids need to be assessed, and that can temporarily stretch out wait times. Then, once assessments happen, however many kids are found eligible for services adds to the number of children needing a spot. So more referrals and more kids qualifying both mean a longer line for a little while.

2. School District Screenings- Once kids get a bit older and are approaching preschool age, our district does developmental screenings to check in on how they're growing and learning. These screenings tend to happen in bursts — often around certain times of the year — so when a screening event happens, we often see a wave of kids who need follow-up assessments, and some of those kids end up qualifying for services too.

Why This Matters for Families on the Waitlist

Because these two streams (EI referrals and district screenings) don't run on the same schedule, the waitlist can go up or down even when overall enrollment isn't really changing much. If you notice the wait feels longer at certain times of year, it's often just because one or both of these referral pipelines had a busy stretch — not because anything has changed about your child's place in line.

We're committed to moving through the list as quickly as we can, and we'll keep communicating updates as they come. If you ever have questions about where your child stands, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Early Childhood Hours and Fees

Click HERE to view the 2026-2027 Early Childhood Calendar.
Early Childhood follows the Central District 51 Calendar with a few exceptions.
- Early Childhood begins on August 17, 2026, and ends on May 14, 2027.
- Our program runs Monday through Friday.
- AM Session is 8:30 to 11:00 am
- PM Session is 12:00 to 2:30 pm
- Transportation is provided.

Early Childhood Special Education for students who qualify for ECE in their IEP are assessed a one-time registration fee of $67.50 for the school year.
Blended Early Childhood Students for typical students is tuition-based. The cost is $15 per day or approximately $2,400.00 for the school year. Payment information will be sent out in September.
Employees of the school district are allowed to enroll their children in the early childhood blended program regardless of Central 51 district residency.
Early Childhood Medical Forms- Please submit a physical with immunizations to the school office.