Special Education

About the Division

Contacts

Traci Wallen
Director of Special Education
twallen@d125.org | 847-415-4801 

Megan Sugrue
Assistant Director of Special Education
msugrue@d125.org | 847-415-4867

Quick Links

• IEP Accommodations for Standardized Testing (ACT, PSAT, SAT, and AP Exams)
  • For questions, e-mail shs_testing@d125.org
• Embrace Parent Portal Instructions: https://www.embraceeducation.com/parent-portal/
• Special Education Faculty and Staff Directory
• ELC (Exceptional Learners Collaborative) Related Service Providers

Mission and Vision

Mission

1. Provide support services per IEP for students with identified disabilities, enabling them opportunities for success in high school.
2. Satisfy legal mandates set by state and federal law (per IDEA) regarding identified students with disabilities.

Vision

The Special Education Division will strive to:

1. Assist students to choose opportunities for success and development of self-advocacy.
2. Commit to continued enrichment of skills and knowledge by special education personnel.
3. Adapt as needed to serve an expanding and identified special education population.
4. Expand inclusionary opportunities as appropriate.

I. Climate of Teaching and Learning

The Special Education Division strives to understand students as individual learners with special needs and learning styles. Through that understanding and sensitivity for special needs students, the faculty and staff work to guide the students toward academic success and self-advocacy. Special Education faculty and staff focus on teaching appropriate strategies based on individual needs of special education students.

The Special Education Division:

A. Assists students to choose opportunities for success.

1. Individualized case management
   a. Monitoring of grades and behaviors in mainstream classes.
   b. Tutorial support for mainstream classes.
   c. Instructional classes available to optimize opportunities for success.
   d. Pupil to teacher ratio enables personalized attention and caring.
   e. Support services based on individual needs - Social Work, Speech/Language, OT, etc.
    
2. Maximizes opportunities for inclusion in mainstream curriculum.
   a. REI Process facilitates communication between students, teachers, and parents.
   b. Division fosters respect and consideration for students with disabilities.

B. Assists students to develop self advocacy and independence.

1. Developing awareness of individual student's disabilities and teaching strategies for academic and social success.
2. Encouraging participation in extra-curricular activities.
3. Assisting with post-secondary planning.

II. Personnel-Working within a Professional Learning Community

The Special Education Division considers itself exemplary based on the school philosophy that a division can only been as good as the personnel it employs. The division is committed to recruiting and retaining individuals with outstanding expertise in the field of special education. The faculty and staff of the division provide a unique diversity of skills in specialty areas for the benefit of special needs students. Furthermore, the Special Education Division supports and executes the school's vision and values of success for all students.

The Special Education Division:

A. Commits to continued enrichment of skills and knowledge of special education personnel.

1. Shared mission, vision, and values throughout the division.
2. Engagement in collective inquiry regarding best practices through participation in conferences, seminars, workshops, and graduate classes.
3. Continual learning in order to best serve an increasingly diverse special education population.
   a. Increased program options-Resource support, instructional classes, assistance in mainstream, etc.
   b.Additional training of teachers in additional specific disabilities areas.
   c. Meet and exceed Illinois State Teaching Certification Standards.
   d. Presentations at national, state, and local conferences.
4. Assumes leadership roles within Stevenson community through training and education of mainstream faculty and staff.

B. Commits to ongoing working relationships with paraprofessionals, speech therapists, social workers and regular education colleagues.

1. Unique contributions of each team member valued for student success.
2. Regular communication and exchange regarding individual students between case manager and other special education team members.
3. Commitment to value and respect each other's specific skills and contributions in student's individual education program.
4. Formal and informal collaborative opportunities between regular education and special education colleagues.

III. Curriculum/Assessment-Attention to Individual Students

The Special Education Division provides special needs students with support for the regular education curriculum, adapted curriculum through smaller, special education classes that parallel the regular education curriculum and ancillary services that are appropriate for special needs students as dictated by the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP). The faculty and staff monitor student progress and provide appropriate support for students, regular education teachers and parents. It is the goal of the Special Education Division to enable students to become productive and effective citizens.

The Special Education Division:

A.  Maintains equity and access to mainstream curriculum.

1. Expand inclusionary opportunities as appropriate.
2. Stimulate active engagement of special needs students enrolled in regular education curriculum.

B.  Develops curriculum as needed to serve an expanding identified special education population.

1. Instructional classes are available to meet individual goals.
   a.  Offers more individualized instruction than mainstream classes.
   b.  Parallels mainstream curriculum with appropriate modifications.
    
2. Adapts curriculum appropriately with cooperation of mainstream teacher.
   a.  Collaboration between mainstream teacher and SEC.
   b.  Modifications focused for student success.
   c.  Grades recorded as modified on transcript.

IV.  Community Partnerships

The Special Education Division strives to establish and maintain effective partnerships with regular education, parents, social service agencies, private practice professionals (doctors, psychologists, social workers, etc.), and the larger community.

The Special Education Division:

A.  Continues to involve parent(s)/guardian in the decision-making process regarding student's Individual Education Plan (IEP).

B.  Provides post-secondary transition planning for all special education students with respect to their individual needs.

C.  Completes sender school articulation to ease transition to high school.

1. Begins the process early in the special needs student's 8th grade school year.
2. Works closely with the appropriate sender school personnel (case managers, administrators, regular education staff, speech and language therapists, school psychologists and social workers).
3. Attends all meetings-annual reviews, reevaluations, etc.-as appropriate for the incoming special needs students.
4. Begins the IEP Process for high school.
5. Introduces parents and students to programs, procedure and curriculum for high school.

Programs and Services

Official Notice: Under Illinois law, students with disabilities who do not qualify for an IEP may qualify for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if the child meets one of the following criteria:

• has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities
• has a record of a physical or mental impairment
• is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment.

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Resource Services

The resource program is designed to meet the needs of students with mild disabilities who may need tutorial and organizational assistance, as well as case management on a daily basis. This program may include social work, speech/language, and/or other related services for qualifying students. The students in this program are primarily mainstreamed in Stevenson courses and electives.

Students in the special education resource programs:

• Meet with case manager for one period daily
• Come prepared with all necessary materials (including, but not limited to: assignment notebook, pen/pencil, calculator, and paper), in addition to homework (which may need to be checked, revised, or completed), and review materials (like notes and outlines for upcoming assessments)
• Receive assistance, work on assignments and projects, and review materials/study for upcoming assessments
• Utilize the library and/or other regular education resource centers, as appropriate
• Work with case managers to coordinate classroom and testing accommodations as delineated in the student's IEP

Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Program (ASD)

The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Support Program is a strategy-based program that serves as a platform for the development of social/emotional, executive functioning, and core content skills for individual learners. Because these skills are pervasive in all coursework at Stevenson High School and beyond, students in this class will develop compensatory strategies to improve deficit areas through the application of evidence-based practices. A student’s support team bridges direct instruction and classroom support through regular collaboration and communication with their teachers, as well as push-in services taking place within the classroom. Students may participate in lessons to further develop social skills and independent living skills, based on the needs of each student. ASD study skills programming is individualized for each student, based upon individual IEP goals, services, and transition plans.

Structured Learning Program

The Structured Learning Program is designed to meet the needs of students requiring a highly structured, consistent learning environment. The program's significantly individualized instruction focuses on increasing student’s self-management skills and independence, as well as further development of functional academic skills. The program offers a modified curriculum that is supplemented with 1:1 assistance and supervision throughout the school day.

Supported Academic and Independent Living (SAIL)

The Supported Academic and Independent Living (SAIL) program offers a modified, functional curriculum for students with mild to moderate intellectual and functional deficits. The SAIL program focuses on functional academic skills aligned to the essential elements of the common core state standards, as well as independent living and prevocational skills. Students in the SAIL program participate in small group instruction to develop their foundational skills in preparation for participation in the district Transition program.

Educational Life Skills Program (ELS)

The Educational Life Skills Program (ELS) is designed as a school-within-a-school, supporting students with moderate to severe functional and cognitive deficits. The ELS program offers individualized one-to-one support as well as small group instruction. Student learning is highly modified and individualized per student based on their specific IEP goals. The ELS program emphasizes functional life skill domains including adaptive skills, self-care, recreation/leisure, community, vocational skill sets, and communication. Students in the ELS program participate in community-based instruction to generalize skills.

Exceptional Learners Collaborative (ELC)

The Exceptional Learners' Collaborative (ELC) is a special education cooperative and joint agreement between four school districts located in Vernon Hills. The Exceptional Learners Collaborative will ensure support for the full continuum of services essential to providing exceptional services to our exceptional learners in District 125. Related service supports for students with low incidence exceptionalities include assistive technology consultation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language, social work, vision itinerant, hearing itinerant, psychological services, audiology and mobility services.

Transition Program

Stevenson High School’s Transition Program provides individualized skill development for special education students ages 18-22. The primary goal of the Transition Program is to increase the students' independence through vocation, social, and life skill development. The life skills class takes place during half of the students’ day and is used to develop and enhance the students’ independence by providing a curriculum with clear learning targets and ongoing assessments accompanied with hands on activities, group collaboration, and technology integration. Students will practice the skills learned in a community setting that supplements what is being taught. Assessment is ongoing and occurs in the classroom and community. Life skills focus includes: budgeting, communication, household upkeep and maintenance, personal care, meal planning and implementation, personal interests/skills, prioritizing/organizational skills, problem solving, socialization, public transportation, nutrition/fitness, and time management.

Instructional Services

The instructional program is the most flexible special education program in the building. It is designed to meet the needs of students with moderate to severe disabilities who may need extensive assistance and/or instructional courses. Instructional classes provide more individual attention than mainstream classes are able to provide. These classes offer differentiated instruction and the content delivery is multi-modal in nature. This program includes a strong transitional component as well as social work, speech/language and/or other related services, for qualifying students. These students have access to all Stevenson courses and electives in the mainstream, as appropriate.

Students in the special education instructional programs:

• Meet with case manager for one or more periods daily
• Require instructional class(es)
• Come prepared with all necessary materials (including, but not limited to: assignment notebook, pen/pencil, calculator, and paper), in addition to homework (which may need to be checked, revised, or completed), and review materials (like notes and outlines for upcoming assessments)
• Receive assistance, work on assignments and projects, and review materials/study for upcoming assessments
• Utilize the library and/or other regular education resource centers, as appropriate
• Work with case managers to coordinate classroom and testing accommodations as delineated in the student's IEP

Consultation/Collaboration Model

Stevenson’s Special Education Consultation/Collaboration Model is designed to meet the needs of special education students within the regular education environment. Stevenson faculty members utilize a consultative/collaborative model, which facilitates the exchange of information and supportive services for all mainstream courses. Contact is made with the mainstream teacher who maintains the primary responsibility for curricular and disciplinary issues.

Special education staff members:

• Act as liaisons between mainstream teachers and case managers
• Provide mainstream teachers with background information regarding the needs of individual students
• Identify and explain required accommodations
• Help students organize materials to meet curriculum goals
• Read tests/exams to students when necessary
• Provide teachers with suggestions for preparing instructional materials and methods, as well as strategies for accommodating students in the regular classroom
• Provide direct assistance to students in the resource room and, possibly, in the classroom upon teacher's request
• Teach instructional classes, as appropriate

Speech Language Therapy

Areas of Speech-Language Therapy

Articulation: An articulation disorder is the inability to produce sounds correctly.  The student may have difficulty sequencing sounds, substituting one sound for another, or distorting sound production.
 
Language: Language may be divided into two parts: expressive and receptive.  A student with a language disorder may demonstrate impairment, delay, and/or deviant development of comprehension and/or the use of spoken language.
 
Stuttering: Stuttering is the interruption in the flow of speech characterized by hesitations, prolongations, and/or repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases.  Tension seen in the lips, jaw, and neck may be present.  All speakers have periods of dysfluencies; however, severe disruption in speech fluency is cause for possible intervention.

• An excellent source of information on stuttering can be found on the homepage for the Stuttering Foundation of America including links on "How to React to People Who Stutter," "Tips for Teachers," and "Famous People Who Stutter."


Voice: A voice disorder is any deviation in pitch, intensity, quality, or other attribute, which consistently interferes with communication; draws unfavorable attention, adversely affects the speaker or listener, or is inappropriate to the age or sex of the individual.  The most common voice disorders are due to vocal misuse and abuse, which frequently causes vocal nodules (a medically diagnosed condition).
 
Pragmatic Language: Disorders of pragmatic language, or social skills, may involve difficulty using language for different purposes, changing language depending on the listener or situation, and/or following conversational rules or storytelling.

For more information on communication disorders, visit the American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Post-High School Transition

From the moment we are born, life is a series of transitions and high school graduation is traditionally one of the most important.

The goals of the Special Education Transition Services are to provide students with activities and opportunities to promote a well-planned, meaningful, and achievable post-high school transition. The Stevenson Transition Team consists of every member of the student’s education team. 

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Useful Links

Transition

• College Board
• Bridges
• NAVIANCE
• Choices
• Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities
• AHEAD.org (Association on Higher Education and Disability)

Colleges

• College Board
• Peterson's Planner
• The Princeton Review
• North Park University Chicago: College Search
• College Zone
• ACT: Resources for Education and Workplace Success
• CollegeNET
• Careers and Colleges: Find Scholarships, College Grants, Colleges, and Loans

Technical Schools

• EDU Directory
• CollegeSurfing.com
• Vocational Information Center: Directory of Trade, Career, and Technical Schools

ACT/SAT

• College Board
• ACT: Resources for Education and Workplace Success

Career Searches

• CareerCruising
• CareerLocker

Financial Aid

• College Zone
• FastWeb: Scholarships, Financial Aid, Student Loans and Colleges

Essay Writing

• JustColleges.com
• College Board