Mount Prospect school helps break down barriers for students with special needs

People with disabilities often face significant barriers to finding employment, both in learning applicable job skills and employers' awareness of their capabilities.

That's where the High Road School of Mount Prospect's Adult Preparation Program comes in, helping break down barriers for young adults with special needs.

The private, therapeutic school serves students from more than 38 public school districts across the collar counties. It emphasizes independence, choice-making, communication, money skills, integration into the workplace and independent living.

“Our school provides academic and therapeutic services for children, adolescents and young adults aged 3 to 21, and they have extraordinary needs,” said Chip Hickman, executive director. “We believe it's critical to provide job training to people with disabilities and special needs. And what we hope to do is to prepare them for the workplace and also prepare our community and employers to be ready to support people with disabilities.”

The school has more than 60 employees and the capacity for up to 120 students, but it currently serves 75 who came through referrals from public school districts. That includes students with learning, emotional and developmental disabilities, students with autism, and students who need assistance with communication and independence.

“It's a matter of creating that awareness in our community about the value and the enjoyment of providing people with disabilities a job opportunity,” Hickman said. “At the end of the day, we're impacting their independence, their mental health and their quality of life. It's rewarding on both ends.”

Learning job skills

High Road School itself employs people with disabilities and prepares students for all types of job settings. It has secured job placements for more than 27 students.

Students build skills through in-school practice jobs, replicating work they would do in the community, such as grocery stocking and bagging, housekeeping, certain factory jobs and supporting the elderly at senior centers.

“They're able to practice it in the safety of the school and gain the confidence that they need to assimilate in the community ... and that's not easy to do,” said Jo Zillman, a job coach who has worked 19 years at the school.

“Then we take them to hone those same skills by attending our rotational community job sites. It takes some of the stress off of them.”

High Road Schools of Illinois serve nearly 700 students statewide, including at sites in Bloomington, Hoffman Estates and Naperville.

“Our program is at a level of quality we've never experienced before,” Hickman said. “Typically, we struggle with job placements. But because we reside in a progressive community here in Mount Prospect and the neighboring communities are forward-thinking, there are lots of opportunities for people with disabilities to become trained and to have a quality of life with supports.”

Religions converge

This August, the Parliament of the World's Religions will return to Chicago ­— the birthplace of the interfaith movement — after 30 years to celebrate 130 years of history in the city.

The inaugural World Parliament of Religions was held in September 1893 in conjunction with the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, later known as the World's Fair, in Chicago. It is celebrated as the birth of modern interreligious dialogue for traditions of the East and West.

Since 1993, there have been eight global convenings hosted by the parliament. It is the largest, most diverse, and premier global gathering for people of religious, spiritual and ethical convictions, according to the parliament's website.

Participants from more than 200 religious, Indigenous, and secular beliefs and more than 80 nations are expected to attend this year's conference.

It includes plenary sessions, breakout sessions, art and cultural exhibits, performances, a film festival and opportunities to connect with people and organizations committed to justice, peace and sustainability.

The 2023 Parliament of the World's Religions will run Aug. 14-18 at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center, 2301 S. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive. For more information, visit parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2023-chicago/.

Volunteers sought

Islamic Circle of North America Relief is seeking volunteers to help staff its booth during the annual Glendale Heights Fest, Thursday through Sunday at Camera Park, 101 E Fullerton Ave.

Shifts will be broken in two time slots running from 3:45 to 10 p.m.

Sign up at https://bit.ly/GH-Fest-7-14.

Based in Glendale Heights, ICNA Relief provides free clinics, food assistance, transitional housing for homeless women, disaster relief, Muslim family services and support to students, parents and educators. For more information, visit icnarelief.org.

Youth citizenship

There's still time to enroll in the Arlington Heights Police Department's 2023 Youth Citizen Police Academy.

Students ages 13-17 interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement, public safety, fire service or law are invited. The academy runs from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.

The free, one-week class offers students a unique opportunity to learn from police officers and firefighters through hands-on activities such as mock traffic stops, forensics, vehicle extraction, fire hose handling techniques and training scenarios on VirTra — an immersive virtual simulation technology.

For more information, visit vah.com/government/departments/police/youth_citizen_police_academy.php.

Sign up at arlingtonil.seamlessdocs.com/f/6g6y9jwdydzo.

Halal fest

Volunteers are sought for the Illinois Muslim Chamber of Commerce's first Naperville Halal Fest on Aug. 5.

The festival will run from noon to 8 p.m. at Frontier Park, 3380 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville. The fest celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the Muslim world experienced through halal food, traditional clothing, music, cultural performances and children's activities.

The event is free and open to the public. More than 3,000 attendees are anticipated, organizers said.

Register by Saturday to volunteer at https://form.jotform.com/231658052050145.

Event entry is free, but secure your tickets at tinyurl.com/npvlhf.

For more details, visit the chamber's Facebook page, facebook.com/ILMuslimChamber, or Instagram, instagram.com/ilmuslimchamber/.

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