Early Childhood Special Education

Welcome Back, ECSE Families!

It was so wonderful to welcome our students back on Monday! Our buildings were filled with smiles, excitement, and the joy of seeing familiar faces again. It was a great reminder of why we do what we do each day. You’ll see some pictures throughout this newsletter highlighting our amazing staff and the wonderful things happening at both Longfellow and Agassiz.

We also have some exciting news to celebrate! Our ECSE program has earned accreditation from Cognia with the status of Accredited with Merit! This recognition honors our commitment to our students, educators, and the larger school community. Earning this distinction is a reflection of the high standards we hold for ourselves and our continued commitment to growth, learning, and continuous improvement.

I am incredibly proud of our dedicated ECSE staff. Here’s to a wonderful school year filled with learning, connection, growth, and plenty of smiles! I am so excited for what this year will bring. 💙

Principal Sistad

September 7: Labor Day, NO SCHOOL

September 16: Early Out Day, NO AFTERNOON ECSE SESSION

October 1: Family Engagement Session, 4-5:30 pm at Agassiz

For the 2026-2027 school year, Fargo Public Schools (FPS) will implement four “early release” school days for students. On these days, students will be dismissed two hours early at each building, and afternoon buses will run on an adjusted schedule two hours earlier than normal. The early dismissal will allow our staff to gather for an extended Professional Development.

During these early release days, our teachers and support staff will focus on developing navigation skills for our new state student management system, Infinite Campus, and on participating in required training.

We understand that early release days may cause some inconvenience for parents and guardians, but this is an important step towards improving our teaching practices and ultimately benefiting our students’ learning outcomes. We appreciate your understanding and support in this matter.

The dates of the early outs are:

Wednesday, September 16

Wednesday, October 21

Wednesday, December 9

Wednesday, February 10

On these four days, there will be no afternoon ECSE session and busses will not run those afternoons. The morning ECSE session and bussing will run as usual.

• AM Session: 8:00-10:30
• PM Session 12:10-2:40

ECSE Longfellow Staff

Our first week in the E-STAR room has been all about building relationships, creating connection and helping school feel like a preferred place. We’ve been getting to know each learner, following their interests and celebrating communication, play and successes.

We are also settling into routines through lots of practice, modeling and visual supports. We are off to a wonderful start and look forward to a year of growing together!

Pictured L to R: Felicia, Taylor, Renada

Introducing ECSE's Positive Behavior Technicians, Kelsey (left) and Sara (right)

My name is Kelsey. This is my 4th year working at ECSE as a Positive Behavior Technician! I help support classrooms at Longfellow and Agassiz. My favorite part about ECSE is seeing the progress our learners accomplish throughout the year! When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our daughter who is 3 months old.

Hello!

I am Sara Haugen. I work as a Positive Behavior Technician (PBT). I have been working with the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) for 13 years. In my role, my primary focus is to provide support for staff and students, implement behavior intervention plans, and help our students build meaningful new skills.

Life outside of work is never boring as I have 5 children starting at the age 22 to 9 Yrs old. We live out in Horace with our 3 dogs. I love to bake and have been exploring the sourdough world.

Fargo Public Schools encourages all families to complete the free/reduced meal application. The application is free and only takes a few minutes to complete: https://secure.ezmealapp.com/ApplicationScreen.aspx

Students attending school are provided breakfast and lunch through the USDA National School Lunch Program. Students may qualify for federal and state assistance to cover the cost of meals. Households may qualify based on income and size, participation in a federal assistance program (SNAP, etc.) or other criteria. Families receive free meals if they fall below 225% of the federal poverty line. Families must submit a Student Fees Assistance and Benefits Application (also known as a Free-and Reduced-Price Meal Application) every year.

If families qualify, households can receive free meals and additional benefits such as:

• Waived (canceled) fees for school related activities such as band rentals, activity fees, exam fees, and others.

• Increased funding to the district for educational programs through Title 1 funding, foundation aid, e-rate for technology grants, and others.

Households wishing to apply for Free or Reduced-Price Meals may apply by submitting a Student Fees Assistance and Benefits Application. It is only necessary to submit one application per household.

For more information about Free or Reduced-Priced Meals or the Student Fees Assistance and Benefits Application, visit the FPS Nutritional Services Department website. If you need assistance with the application, call FPS Nutrition Services at 701.446.1153.

📱 Text Our Attendance Line: Please text 701-446-8003 when your child will not be at school.

🚍 If your child rides the bus, please also call Valley Bus at 701-235-5912 to cancel transportation for that day.

The Community Friends Program places two typically developing peers in each of our afternoon ECSE classrooms. Community friends serve as role models and language models for our preschoolers with special needs. In return the community friends receive a high quality half day preschool experience at no cost and simultaneously learn empathy and acceptance. We had great success with our program in past years and are excited to be able to continue it. In order to qualify as a community friend, child must be 4 years old by July 31, 2026 and they must pass a developmental screening. In addition, parents must provide transportation to an from school each day. The program runs four days a week (Monday - Thursday) from 12:10-2:40 pm.

If you have siblings, relatives, friends or neighbors who might make a good community friend please have their parents call our Early Childhood office at 701-446-3100.