5. Education and Training Facilities

We offer three residential education and outreach programs for children with disabilities. Our Next Steps program trains parents to plan, advocate, and identify resources for their child with a disability. Any Illinois resident who meets the age and disability criteria can attend the residential schools.

Our educational programming includes extra-curricular activities, vocational rehabilitation and transition services, vocational education classes, training in daily living skills, orientation and mobility skills, and independent living skills.

Any Illinois resident whose child has a disability can participate in Next Steps. Local school districts, professionals and parents can make referrals for children to attend

• Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD), located in Jacksonville, serves students from birth to 21 who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI), located in Jacksonville, serves students from birth to 21 who are blind or visually impaired.
• Illinois Center for Rehabilitation & Education-Roosevelt (ICRE-R), located in Chicago, serves students ages 5-22 with severe physical disabilities.
• Illinois Center for Rehabilitation & Education-Wood (ICRE-W), is a facility which provides a concentrated short-term residential and day training commuter program for adults 18 years or older, who are blind, visually impaired, or Deafblind.

For specific admissions criteria, contact the schools directly.

Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD)

The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) was founded in 1839 and is in Jacksonville, Illinois on a 50-acre campus in central Illinois. The school offers accredited educational services for children from ages three to twenty-one, who are deaf or hard of hearing and live more than 25 miles from Jacksonville, and day programming for students who live within 25 miles of Jacksonville.

The vision of the Illinois School for the Deaf is to provide an environment in which students will thrive and succeed to their optimal potential. The mission is to engage students in a supportive, safe, and nurturing environment to achieve personal excellence academically, socially, physically, and emotionally.

ISD Program Highlights

In FY22, ISD provided educational instruction to 49 Elementary Age (PreK-6th), 15 Junior High students, 89 High School students and 59 Birth to 3.

• The Parent/Infant Program serves Illinois children diagnosed with hearing loss from birth to age 3 and their families.
• Provides a full range of academic, career, and support services to meet the needs of each student.
• Jr and Sr High students have choice in academic individualized educational programming that provides a transition plan to support the students in preparation for their post-secondary journey:
  • students may choose classes through the Career Technical Education (CTE) program, which emphasizes on pre-vocational and vocational subjects.
  • students may choose to take advantage of agreements established with area schools if they are interested in a course not offered at ISD.
• Provides a wide variety of sports and extracurricular activities such as boys and girls basketball, volleyball, swimming, bowling, track, and cheerleading that help them become well-rounded and productive adults.
• Provides a bilingual environment in American Sign Language (ASL) and English so individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing can learn and work together to ensure effective communication.
• Services are free and available to parents, students, teachers, and educational personnel who work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing in Illinois including training on
  • topics associated with hearing loss,
  • conferences for parents,
  • assessments to identify educational and vocational needs,
  • annual conferences for educational personnel and
  • Cochlear Implant support.

The 77th annual Institute for Parents of Preschool Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (Institute) was held on the campus of the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) from June 12 - 16, 2022. The Institute was jointly sponsored by the Department of Human Services/Illinois School for the Deaf, Illinois State Board of Education, University of Illinois-Division of Specialized Care for Children, and the Illinois Departments of Public Health. Twenty-two families attend and complete the Institute. The mission of the Institute was to provide information and support to families of infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing, to assist them in making informed decisions on behalf of their child who is deaf or hard of hearing, and to evaluate the infants and toddlers using a multi-disciplinary approach. The goals of the Institute were:

1. To empower families to deal with service providers to ensure that their children who are deaf are adequately served.
2. To provide parents with information on the phenomena of deafness, psycho/social implications of deafness, child development, language development, and programming options.
3. To evaluate infants/toddlers who are deaf using a multi-disciplinary approach in the disciplines of education, optometry, audiology, speech and language, and psychology.
4. To provide written reports of all formal evaluations including recommendations for each individual child and family.
5. To provide opportunities for parents to interact with other parents and with individuals who are deaf.
6. To provide opportunities for infants and toddlers to interact with peers.
7. To provide follow-up to families in terms of assuring recommendations made at the Institute are implemented.

ISD Program Success Story - ISD and ISVI swim team

Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI)

The vision of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired is to provide a quality, comprehensive education and serve as a statewide resource to students in Illinois with visual impairments, assisting them in becoming personally productive and self-sufficient citizens.

The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI), established in 1849, is a residential/day school for students who are blind or visually impaired. Located in Jacksonville, ISVI provides accredited educational and related services for children from birth to 22 years of age through preschool, elementary and high school.

• In FY22, ISVI provided educational instruction to 59 students and 73 Birth to 3 babies and their families.
• Strong academic programming emphasizes independence and vocational skills, instruction in Braille, daily living skills, orientation and mobility training, and assistive technology.
• Students enjoy a variety of extracurricular and dormitory activities, including track, cheerleading, swimming, wrestling, goalball, bowling, forensics, yearbook, student council, and choir.
• The available curriculum units provide for easy credit transfer from and into public schools. Students can be referred for enrollment by their parents or their local education agency.
• Educational services are provided at no cost to parents. Personal belongings, health care, and spending money are the responsibility of the parents. The home schools are responsible for transportation cost for home-going breaks and personal assistants.

ISVI Program Highlights

• A three-day virtual Summer STEAM Camp was held to support students across the state. During COVID there were growing concerns with social emotional needs of students. The camp offered a social emotional language component that had not been offered in past camps. This was attended by 11 students across the state.
• The Student Warrior Pride Program had 46 students involved in the Student Work Experience. 29 students had on campus jobs and 8 held off campus jobs at various points in the year. 9 students held multiple jobs.
• ISVI held a Homecoming Dance in alignment with the Al Eberhardt Track Meet. This was the first of many Homecoming Dances to come. Royalty was chosen and fun was had by all!
• ISVI boys team won the National Council of Schools for the Blind conference title. All teams placed in all sports in the conference. Two competitors were all state swimmers for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).
• Opening Doors, a workshop for parents and children age 0-5, was held hybrid, two all day in person workshops, one in Bloomington and one in Jacksonville were held as well as virtual meeting throughout the week. The programs reached 21 parents and professionals attended the in-person events. The virtual events had 52 in attendance throughout the week.
• There were 4 virtual events held for professionals on a variety of topics to support professionals across the state.
• Provided independent living and vocational support for 15 students through the Transitional Living Center.

Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education- Roosevelt (ICRE-R)

The mission of ICRE-R is to provide transition services including independent living, post-secondary education, vocational training, advocacy, community participation and services to assist students with disabilities in achieving the highest level of independence in community living and employment.

ICRE-R, which first opened in September of 1946 under the name Illinois Children's Hospital-School (ICHS), provides a comprehensive transition program for students with physical disabilities and other health impairments who have completed their high school education, but have deferred their high school diplomas. The program is 4 years in length and is available to students for 4 years or until they reach 22 years of age, whichever comes first.

ICRE-R work with students, parent/guardian, local education, and community agencies to assist with coordinating services from high school to adult living. Students may attend ICRE-R as a residential student in the dormitories or attend the day program Monday - Thursday, as a day student. Each student's program is tailored to his/her individual needs, skills and interests and have the opportunity to learn

• Living Skills,
• Vocational Skills,
• Employability Skills,
• Self-Advocacy,
• Social Skills,
• Leisure Skills,
• Medical Management, and
• Mobility Skills

Students participate in College Education and Vocational Training. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors are part of the students programming and help coordinate the services that will best suit the needs of the students and their families. ICRE-R offers a wide variety of evening extracurricular programs in the arts, music, drone program, rock climbing, swim, and dance. Services at ICRE-R are offered at no charge to Illinois residents.

ICRE-R Program Highlights

•  In 2022, ICRE-R provided educational instruction to 33 transition students and 6 Pre-Employment Preparation students.
•  Seven students were able to live independently in their own community apartments with support from skills learned from the ICRE transition program.
• Students participated in the Mobility Access Program (IMAP) whereby through the efforts of a mobility trainer, students learned independent mobility throughout the entire Chicagoland area.
• Successfully expanded our culinary arts program to include a pop-up kitchen and coffee shop.
• Students performed dance routine for the mayor of Chicago during the Mayor's community program.
• Education Department restructured and implemented new assessment tool to measure student progress in the program.
• Collaborated with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to Implement ICRE-R Self Employment program.
• Seven students were able to live independently in their own community apartments with support from skills learned from the ICRE transition program.
• The Nursing Mental Health Assessment tool was introduced and utilized in FY 22. This tool was introduced by one of the ICRE-R nursing staff who noted many students specifically sought her out to discuss personal problems of many aspects and visual assessment of displayed behaviors that warrant intervention. In collaboration with social service early intervention plans have been implemented aiding in students to be focus and gain the most out of the program.

ICRE-R Priorities for FY23

• Ensure that all eligible students are connected with appropriate housing options, including PUNS and the Statewide Referral Network (SRN).
• Increase enrollment in college for current students attending the ICRE program and provide ongoing support for those attending.
•  Ensure students with apartments are prepared for successful independent living, including budgeting and having access to community resources.
• Ensure nursing staff are familiar with the COVID testing portal
• Maintain current infection control practices to assure healthy/safe learning environment.
• Expand job and internship opportunities.
• Re-design school store to fit the needs of our students and the customer service program.

ICRE-R Program Success Stories

ICRE was featured at the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) celebration hosted by the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities which Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended. GAAD honors digital inclusion and accessibility, which impacts more than one billion people with disabilities. The ICRE students were featured during their performance with the ReinventAbility adaptive dance group during the event.

Student Success Story

Michael graduated from ICRE in 2019. While at ICRE, he was connected to DRS vocational rehabilitation services and explored different career options. He began attending the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) while participating in the ICRE program. Michael graduated in 2022 with honors from UIC with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He is currently looking forward to attending law school in the near future. While Michael was in the ICRE transition program, he gained essential skills necessary for daily living. He now successfully lives in a community apartment with support in the Chicagoland area. He returns to ICRE to inspire current students and show them what success can look like after our program.

Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education - Wood

The Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education-Wood (ICRE-Wood) is a facility which provides a concentrated short-term residential and day training commuter program for adults 18 years or older, who are blind, visually impaired, or Deafblind.  ICRE-W offers a 12-week vocational and independent skills training program. Other individuals who can commute to ICRE-W can also attend classes at the center.

Vocational training services include Braille, computer technology, health and wellness, orientation and mobility, and independent living skills. Support services provided by the social worker include counseling, housing help, and employment assistance. All services are coordinated to provide an individual with an enhanced opportunity to prepare for employment, school and/or living independently.

ICRE-W Program Highlights

During FY22, 33 individuals graduated from the program. Each fourteen (14) week course was designed to help individuals become self-supporting citizens of their communities. Many customers have become gainfully employed at various organizations, such as: the Social Security Administration, Department of Employment Security, Department of Streets and Sanitation, Northwestern University, Walmart, and the Chicago Lighthouse.

ICRE-W Program Success Story

Christopher Ellington's training at ICRE-Wood allowed him to continue his professional work as a financial advisor and accountant of his business, Max Tax Professionals.