Programming
Early Childhood Center (ECC)
Preschool for All (PFA)
The Preschool for All (PFA) program is a state-funded, high-quality early childhood initiative offering free preschool to children ages 3-5. Led by Illinois-licensed educators, the program focuses on the "whole child" by blending purposeful play with the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards to build essential literacy, math, communication, and social-emotional skills. Enrollment is prioritized for children who may benefit most from early academic support, with placement determined through a required developmental screening process. The program partners closely with families to ensure children are confident, curious, and prepared for the transition to kindergarten.
Supports may include accommodations, modifications, and small-group or individualized instruction to address developmental needs and promote school readiness.
- Support provided within the classroom and across daily activities
- Emphasis on academic, functional, social-emotional, or communication skills
- Supports tailored to each child's developmental needs and goals
Self-Contained
The Self-Contained program provides individualized and specialized instruction for children ages 3-5 with disabilities who require a more structured and supportive learning environment. Students spend the majority of their day within the self-contained classroom, where instruction is tailored to meet their developmental, academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and communication needs.
Supports may include accommodations, modifications, individualized instruction, and targeted interventions designed to promote school readiness, independence, communication, and successful participation in school routines.
- Support provided throughout most or all of the school day
- Emphasis on academic, functional, social-emotional, or communication skills
- Instruction and supports are highly individualized to meet each child's unique needs
Greenbrook Elementary School
Resource
Resource support is provided in addition to instruction within the general education classroom. Students receiving resource services typically spend a limited amount of time outside of the general education setting. Supports may include accommodations, modifications, and targeted direct instruction to address specific skill deficits and help close academic gaps.
- Support provided for brief periods of time
- Emphasis may be academic, functional, or behavioral
- Support typically focused on one or two specific areas
Structured Teaching Classroom (STC)
The Structured Teaching Classroom (STC) utilizes a structured teaching approach in which the physical environment, instructional materials, schedules, and routines are intentionally organized to support students' visual, sensory, academic, communication, and behavioral needs. Staff emphasize consistency, visual supports, predictable routines, and concrete learning experiences to increase independence and engagement. Instruction is typically delivered in small-group settings, with the goal of helping students generalize learned skills within the general education environment when appropriate for each individual learner.
- Emphasis on supporting functional and adaptive skills
- Instruction supported through visual systems, routines, and structured environments
- Goal of increasing participation in general education settings with support
REACH (Social Emotional)
The REACH program is a specialized classroom designed for students who require intensive social-emotional, behavioral, self-regulation, and functional support. Instruction focuses on developing emotional regulation, coping strategies, social skills, executive functioning, and replacement behaviors through the use of visual supports, direct instruction, and research-based social-emotional curricula.
The program features smaller class sizes, individualized pacing, and personalized learning targets. Support is provided by a special education teacher, social worker, Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), related service providers, and classroom staff.
The goal is to equip students with the social, emotional, behavioral, and functional skills necessary for school success.
- Emphasis on social-emotional-behavioral support
- Focus on emotional regulation, coping strategies, and adherence to school expectations
- Instruction designed to teach replacement behaviors and increase functional success in school settings
Waterbury Elementary School
Resource
Resource support is provided in addition to instruction within the general education classroom. Students receiving resource services typically spend a limited amount of time outside of the general education setting. Supports may include accommodations, modifications, and targeted direct instruction to address specific skill deficits and help close academic gaps.
- Support provided for brief periods of time
- Emphasis may be academic, functional, or behavioral
- Support typically focused on one or two specific areas
Instructional
An Instructional classroom is a specialized program designed for students who require more academic and executive functioning support that can be effectively provided in a general education setting. Instruction focuses on both academic and functional skills through the use of visual supports, direct instruction, and alternative or replacement curriculum.
Key features include smaller class sizes, individualized placing, and personalized learning targets. Instruction is delivered by a special education teacher with the support of classroom staff. In addition to academics, students develop the social, emotional, executive functioning, and functional skills necessary for school success.
- Emphasis on academic skills and executive functioning support
- Students demonstrate needs across multiple academic areas
- Opportunities for exposure to general education peers during activities such as lunch, recess, PE, art, music, library, and STEM
Functional Academic Program (FAP)
The Functional Academic Program (FAP) is a self-contained multi-needs program designed to serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade who demonstrate significant and complex learning needs requiring intensive, specialized instruction and support throughout the school day. Students in this program present with needs across multiple developmental domains, including academics, communication, social-emotional functioning, behavior regulation, sensory processing, adaptive behavior, and functional life skills that cannot be adequately addressed in less restrictive settings, even with supplementary aids and services.
Instruction emphasizes functional academics, communication, daily living skills, behavior support, social development, and increased independence across school, home, and community settings. The program utilizes highly structured environments, individualized instruction, visual supports, and consistent routines to promote student safety, engagement, and meaningful progress toward individualized goals.
- Emphasis on functional academics, communication, daily living skills, and independence
- Highly structured environment with intensive individualized supports
- Limited exposure to same-age general education peers
Spring Wood Middle School
Resource
Resource support is provided in addition to instruction within the general education classroom. Students receiving resource services typically spend a limited amount of time outside of the general education setting. Supports may include accommodations, modifications, and targeted direct instruction to address specific skill deficits and help close academic gaps.
- Support provided for brief periods of time
- Emphasis may be academic, functional, or behavioral
- Support typically focused on one or two specific areas
DESTINY (Multi-Needs)
The DESTINY program is a specialized life skills, functional, and academic program designed to promote increased independence in daily living, communication, social interaction, classroom participation, self-regulation, academic, and pre-academic skills. Instruction emphasizes real-world application and the generalization of learned skills across environments.
Students are provided opportunities for practical experiences through community-based instruction, swimming lessons, school-based delivery programs, and participation in functional daily routines that support independence and lifelong success.
- Emphasis on life skills and activities of daily living
- Instruction focuses on functional application and independence
- Opportunities for community-based and experiential learning
Co-Taught Classes
In a Co-Taught classroom, a general education teacher and a special education teacher work collaboratively within the same classroom to support all learners. This model allows students with disabilities to receive specialized support while participating alongside their general education peers.
Students benefit from differentiated instruction, small-group support, accommodations, modifications, and increased access to individualized assistance within the gneral education environment. The goal is to create an inclusive learning environment where all students can access grade-level curriculum and experience academic, social, and behavioral success.
- Support provided within the general education setting
- Support provided for brief periods or targeted instructional blocks
- Emphasis may be academic, functional, or behavioral
- Support typically focused on one or two specific areas
Instructional
An Instructional classroom is a specialized program designed for students who require more academic and executive functioning support than can be effectively provided in a general education setting. Instruction focuses on both academic and functional skills through the use of visual supports, direct instruction, and alternative or replacement curriculum.
Key features include smaller class sizes, individualized pacing, and personalized learning targets. Instruction is delivered by a special education teacher with the support of paraprofessionals. In addition to academics, students build the social, emotional, executive functioning, and functional skills necessary for school success.
- Emphasis on supporting academic skills and executive functioning
- Students demonstrate needs across multiple academic areas
- Less emphasis on functional or behavioral needs compared to more intensive multi-needs programs