t First Years we open our doors with the intent of providing the best possible care to all the children who come under our wing, understanding that some may need additional help to be successful in the preschool environment. If challenges do appear, our goal is to work with parents in finding the assistance that is best suited to their child's needs. With this in mind First Years has set in place a multilevel approach for helping non traditional learners that is based on well-trained teachers in the classroom, an on staff specialist in social learning, and a consulting team that is an integral part of our program. This newly formed consortium of available and affordable professionals in early childhood development can work with parents to identify and refer to the right resources in the community.
Margaret Grundstein, the Director, provides vision, training and hands on support drawing on her experience in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist and over 30 years of working with young children. Kelly Priest, co-director of Los Angeles Social Thinking LLC, works with First Years two hours each week, observing, modeling, facilitating play and instructing the teachers in applied social thinking. Kelly is also part of our new team of child development consultants, which includes a speech pathologist and a specialist in nontraditional learning. All of our teachers and staff are invested in ongoing professional development to help each child feel successful. First Years works proactively to find targeted help for children and their parents when early intervention, if needed, for both subtle and more complex challenges will bring ease and growth to a child who is experiencing difficulty in the preschool setting.