Quick Links Schedule a Tour About Admissions Academics Parent Services Athletics Student Life Outreach News Donate Early Learning Center Montessori Education The L. Daniel Hutto Early Learning Center (ELC) is a Montessori preschool for children ages 3-5 who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired. The ELC is a place where your child can learn and grow in a cheerful, nurturing and stimulating environment that emphasizes learning through discovery. Our curriculum focuses on the whole child - building social, emotional, language, self-help, motor and cognitive skills daily through lessons and interactions with staff and peers. Children are led to ask questions, problem-solve, explore, investigate and discover. These processes all help to foster communication and build a love of learning. In finding their own solutions they expand their knowledge base and personalize their learning. Our Montessori preschool nurtures a joy for learning that will prepare children for learning for years to come. Contact ELC Office PH: 904-827-2835 VP: 904-201-4529 Health Care Center PH: 904-827-2410 VP: 904-201-3910 LInks Academic Calendar FortifyFL Health & Safety Training Newsletter Parent Services Parent-Student Handbook (en) Parent-Student Handbook (es) Physical Education Report Bullying/Harassment School Photos Skyward Family Access The Montessori approach cultivates a child’s natural desire to learn, think, and act independently. Children are able to work at their own pace and ability, and they learn to act with care and respect toward their fellow students. Toddler Program For families who are local to St. Augustine, FSDB offers a center-based Toddler Program on the school campus for parents of children 18 months to 3 years. Through the Toddler Program, little ones and their parents are provided opportunities to socialize, interact, and begin to experience the world of a school environment with full language accessibility (spoken and signed) from degree educators who serve as Deaf role models. Parents of children in the Toddler Program often choose to continue with FSDB on campus programing by applying for admission to the Early Learning Center. ELC news Director ELC Director Gail Strassel Gail Strassel is the Director of the L. Daniel Hutto Early Learning Center (ELC), a Montessori preschool at FSDB. She has worked with young children and their families for more than 30 years–as a classroom teacher, an itinerant teacher, and an early interventionist for families with infants and young children in Texas, North Carolina and South Florida. At FSDB, Strassel is the Coordinator of Early Intervention Services (DHH) for the Parent Infant Program. She is also a SKI-HI Institute trainer, working with professionals in FL and nationally to work with families who have young children and infants who are deaf. She served as the legislative liaison for the Florida Educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (FEDHH) Board from 2005–2016 and still actively participates as a member of this group of FL educators. In 2018, she was appointed to the Florida Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Board where she will work with stakeholders to help guide policy and practice related to early intervention for families with young children who are deaf. CONTACT MS. STRASSEL Montessori Primary Certification, Center for Guided Montessori Studies Certificate, Family-Centered Education, Gallaudet University Master of Arts, Deaf Education, University of Northern California Master of Arts, Elementary Education, University of Northern California Bachelor of Arts, Special Education, University of Northern California The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life. ~ Maria Montessori teachers & Support Staff Becca Champney Teacher Brooke Stanfield Teacher Aimee Siegel Instructional Assistant Mackenzie Dirlam Teacher Karen Lebrecht Program Facilitator Laura White Instructional Assistant Delia Lozano Teacher Cally Traetto Reading Specialist Website Christie Neville Teacher Maegan Altemose Instructional Assitant VISIT NEWS careers SUPPORT Connect with Us! General Information PH: 904-827-2200 VP: 904-245-1022 Health Care Center PH: 904-827-2410 VP: 904-201-3910 Outreach Department PH: 904-827-2455 Parent Services PH: 904-827-2212 VP: 904-201-4527 Purchasing PH: 904-827-2331 PH: 904-827-2356 Transportation PH: 800-992-8747 Campus Police PH: 904-827-2315 © Copyright 2018-2022 | Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind Privacy Policy | Accessibility Notice | Nondiscrimination Notice | Statement of Agency Organization and Operation