Special Services

Special Education
School District #93 in cooperation with Proviso Area for Exceptional Children conducts yearly child find activities for the purpose of actively seeking out and identifying all children with special needs in the district who are between the ages of 3 and 21.

Activities developed to fulfill this responsibility include:

• Annual preschool screening.
• Learning and vision screening at regular intervals.
• Speech/language screening.
• Annual screening by teachers and other professional personnel, for referral of those children who exhibit difficulties which interfere with educational progress and/or their adjustment to the educational setting.

Information regarding special education programs and advising the public of the rights of children with special needs is disseminated yearly and is available, and a copy will be provided to those who request this information. Through Proviso Area for Exceptional Children (PAEC), Hillside School is able to provide many special services to children needing assistance not usually available in a regular program. These services are provided on a written referral basis by the child's parents and/or the child's teachers.

Speech/Language Therapy
The speech/language therapist routinely screens new students and kindergartners to determine the need for further testing. Parents/guardians of students needing further assessment and possible help are then contacted for consent. Therapy is provided for students in kindergarten through eighth grade who are determined to be in need of such services. These sessions are held in the speech room. Additionally, the therapist does collaboration within the classroom setting. Needs of preschoolers, ages 3 and 4, are also serviced if eligibility is determined through the annual fall preschool screening and testing, or through the school's therapist. Speech improvement classes are held in the kindergarten classroom. These sessions are conducted weekly to enhance general listening skills and production of speech sounds.