High School Program

Soaring Eagle Academy is an intensive therapeutic day program serving high school students ages 15 through 21, diagnosed with Autism and other related disorders. Soaring Eagle Academy is a safe and nurturing environment that promotes and honors the development of the whole child. Our school philosophy and methodology reflect the DIR® Floor Time model by which students move through developmental levels for relating, communicating, thinking and learning. Building relationships and social interactions are the cornerstone of the educational program. Students have an individual curriculum that integrates their own natural interests, developmental level, and Illinois Learning Standards. Learning experiences support sensory motor, auditory and visual spatial skill development.

The Academy’s educational and social program follows educational best practices within a DIR® methodology. The learning environment supports each child¹s interests and ideas, and welcomes opportunities for student-directed learning. Students are actively engaged in experiential and dynamic learning that promotes problem solving, critical thinking and social emotional development. Process-oriented activities are the foundation for building thinking capacities in our students at the Academy. Social emotional development is facilitated through the building of relationships with staff and peers. Development of relationships and social interactions is considered the foundation for all learning at the Academy. Emotional thinking empowers students to develop their own strategies to manage and support their individual differences in the real world. Staff creates and facilitates emotionally meaningful interactions that encourage student growth in all areas of development.

At the Academy, we believe that students learn best when they are well regulated, able to share attention with peers and adults, and emotionally invested in their learning. Our high school classroom will offer a rich curriculum serving the educational, social/emotional, life skills, and vocational needs of our students. The vocational/Life Skills program will include a range of dynamic vocational experiences organized around developmental, social and therapeutic goals tailored according to each students' natural interests and strengths, to improve students' abilities for a rich and meaningful life.

The Academy staff is a comprehensive team of certified professionals with initial and on-going training in both the DIR® approach and educational best practices. Each student’s team consists of a Special Education Teacher with certification in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, a one-to-one Teaching Assistant, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Psychologist, DIR® Classroom Therapist, DIR® Consultant and Assistive Technology Consultant based on their IEP and the Academy’s initial assessment and therapeutic plan. Art Therapy, Music Therapy and Recreational Therapy are also part of each student’s therapeutic plan. The Program Directors oversee the educational and social program for each student.

A student’s dedicated Teaching Assistant is a critical component of the Academy’s program and the "heart" of the DIR® Model. The Teaching Assistant takes direction from the classroom teacher, therapists and consultants and serves as the student’s Floor Time player throughout the day.

Family involvement is a central component of the program. Parents are respected as active partners in their child’s education through observation, training, classroom visits and coaching to support parent/child interaction. Through this process, parents are supported in understanding their child’s strengths and challenges to bridge the home and school environment.

Soaring Eagle Academy’s behavior policies and procedures promote proactive and emotionally affirming approaches, and a continuum of interventions which emphasize the student’s capacity to regulate themselves. An Individualized Regulatory Support Plan is developed for each student based on their sensory profile and regulatory assessment.

Soaring Eagle Academy is a non-public special education facility approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. The Academy contracts with Illinois public school districts to serve students with disabilities. A self-pay tuition is available for families seeking a DIR® educational and social program for their child. The facility follows a typical school year calendar and is in session full-time five days per week during the regular school year, with an additional summer school session. Our curriculum follows Illinois State Board of Education Learning Standards and guidelines for Reading/Language Arts, Math, Social Science and Science.