Transitions School to shift focus to children with autism

QUINCY (WGEM) - Transitions of Western Illinois announced Thursday the agency is changing the focus of the Transitions School.

In a news release, officials say the Transitions School will be focusing its educational services on children who have autism spectrum disorders beginning with the fall semester,

Transitions Executive Director Mark Schmitz says this decision was made to meet the specific needs of an ever-increasing number of children who have autism spectrum disorders in our community.

“When the Transitions School started more than 50 years ago, there was a need to serve children who had severe developmental disabilities and fragile health conditions,” Schmitz said in the release. “Over the years – and particularly, in the past 10 years – our school population has changed significantly. Today, more than half of our students have autism spectrum disorders. We believe this change in focus at the Transitions School will meet the growing need in our community for services to those with autism spectrum disorders.”

The release said students enrolled at the Transitions School and who do not have an autism spectrum disorder, will be served in the Adams County public schools’ special education programs starting this fall.

“We will work closely with students’ families, the Quincy Public School’s Special Education Services Department, and the school districts in rural Adams County to transition students, who will no longer be attending the Transitions School, to public school programming,” Schmitz said. “Our staff will assist parents and the district with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) so that students will continue to receive the educational services they need. It is our intent to make this transition as smooth as possible for students, families, and our staff.”

Transitions School Administrator Kelle Schlueter, who is a board-certified behavioral analyst, has training in working with those who have an autism spectrum disorder. She will lead the team of educators at the school.

According to officials at Transitions, students are referred to the Transitions School by the special education district in which the family resides.

Director of Development Barbara Chapin said 11 students will be affected by this change.

“So we have given that a good deal of thought, so we decided coming next fall we will focus our educational efforts on educational services on students who have autism spectrum disorders,” Chapin said.

Chapin said that Transitions is offering educational planning for the parents of the affected students to help them figure out their future plans. She says two have already started the moving process

Chapin said the move will reduce the number of classrooms in use from five to three. In addition, there will be eight paraprofessional positions lost. She said all staff will have to apply for the remaining jobs for next year. However, she said employees who are not rehired to work at the school will have the opportunity to apply for other open Transitions positions.

“We don’t anticipate laying anyone off,” Chapin said.

She said there are enough open positions at Transitions to hire everyone who loses their job at the school. Pay for those positions, however, will be determined by factors such as experience and years of service.

Transitions of Western Illinois is a not-for-profit mental health and rehabilitation services provider. The agency was founded in 1955 and annually serves about 7,000 area residents.