PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who require additional educational and positive behavioral supports to overcome challenges that impede success in a traditional school setting, today announced the opening of the High Road School of Peoria (325 W. Romeo B Garrett Avenue, Peoria, IL). The new school marks the second High Road location serving districts across Illinois. Due to COVID-19, classes at the High Road School of Peoria began remotely, with plans for students to resume in-person learning later this fall.
The High Road School of Peoria delivers customized education services for students in grades K-12 (aged 5-21) whose needs cannot be adequately addressed in the traditional classroom. The school’s programs are designed to improve behaviors that impede academic achievement, build transferable life skills, generate positive outcomes, and move students toward a return to their home school classroom reintegration whenever possible.
“Furthering SESI’s commitment to providing safe and educational learning spaces for students, the new High Road School of Peoria offers area students additional opportunities for success in and outside of the classroom,” said Melissa Morrissey, the school’s director and Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist. “Our small class sizes and impressive teacher-to-student ratio at 2:10 allow for close and healthy student-teacher relationships to flourish in a highly positive, nurturing, structured and stimulating environment.”
With the end goal of returning students into their public-school settings, High Road assists the student’s IEP team with the most appropriate learning mode based on a given student’s present levels of performance, social capabilities, motor coordination, and ability to learn in a group setting and provides recommendations to best meet the needs of each student.
The High Road School of Peoria helps students make the most of learning opportunities by employing certified specialists to give each student additional support as needed, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, a licensed clinical social worker and physical therapists.
“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the state of Illinois,” said Andrea Vargas, president of SESI. “We look forward to working closely with the local community and doing all we can to support school districts and families who deserve nothing but the very best for their children.”
The new High Road location will provide employment opportunities for jobseekers in the community including special education teachers and paraprofessionals. The school has created over 11 new positions and will have the capacity to serve up to 40 students. Along with the classrooms, teacher offices and a conference room, the building includes “hang-out” spaces for the students, a motor lab that will be used for indoor recess and occupational therapy and a kitchen for teaching life skills.
For more information on services and enrollment at High Road School of Peoria, please visit https://sesischools.com/locations/illinois/.
About Specialized Education Services, Inc.
Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a division of FullBloom, is a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who face challenges that prevent them from being successful in a traditional classroom. SESI partners with school districts to run in-district classrooms and stand-alone schools that meet the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs of special and alternative education students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Learning, Emotional and other disabilities. Implementing a signature, research-based education model that incorporates supportive therapies, life skills training, and workforce development programs, as well as professional learning for special education teachers, SESI guides students toward success in and out of the classroom. It proudly serves over 3,000 students through over 50 day schools and 80+ in-district classrooms and partners with over 500 school districts. SESI is accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED). www.sesischools.com.