Palatine school for students with anxiety plans enrollment boost

A Palatine school for students with severe school anxiety plans to boost its enrollment and double its in-person capacity.

The plan to expand the Virtual Connections Academy, 865 E. Wilmette Road, won a unanimous recommendation Tuesday from the village’s planning and zoning commission. The academy plans to grow into a space at 887 E. Wilmette Road.

Serving children in first-to-12th grades who are struggling to attend their home schools, the academy blends online, in-home and in-person learning to help them transition back to their home classrooms.

Under the plan, which heads to the village council April 20, enrollment would increase from 65 to 90 students.

Co-owner Erik Billings told commissioners a smaller number of students will be at the brick-and-mortar site. The building is capped at 20 in-person students, which would increase to 40 under the plan.

He said the roughly 4,000-square-foot space is across the alley from the academy’s current site and is vacant. It would be used for therapy rooms, as well as lunch and group activities.

The students come from a wide area, with some traveling up to an hour and drawn from between 10 and 15 districts. Arrivals and departures are staggered.

“This is great that there are academies like this that are offering services not only to our community, but to surrounding communities,” Commissioner Tim Schubert said.

Traffic concerns were raised at the meeting, but the proposal was recommended with the requirement of a traffic management plan.