Valley School District Offering New Special Education Program (IL)

September 7, 2010

Education in Illinois is becoming a group effort.

This year 12 school districts in 5 counties are pairing up in an ed ucation co-op.

The goal is to give more attention to students diagnosed with autism.

"We wanted to have this program to have a very structured environment, promote independence, we want to focus on those social skills and functional academic skills," said special education supervisor, Lisa McMorris.

She says a program like this has been needed for years.

"When I started doing this 16 years ago we didn’t, we had maybe 20, 25 students and one teacher that went around and worked with the students and now we have grown into approximately 65," she said.

Many of the students work with teachers in schools near their home.

Around 10 come to Hutsonville’s new school building.

It was once used for occupation education but now features classrooms, a washer-dryer, full kitchen and sensory room.

"What we need to focus on even at an early age is what these kids are going to be doing at age 21 or when they are functioning as an adult and with children with autism you have to start at an early age," McMorris said.

And within the new classrooms Hutsonville Superintendent Roger Eddy says students have the resources and room to do that.

"Space is important in learning," Eddy said. "Having the space necessary to address the individual learning needs of children is very very important. And i think this center will allow us to have that."

Students in the new program also have the opportunity to eat lunch and take classes wit hin the general education program at Hutsonville.