Within the first few days of school at the new Glenbrook Transition Services Center, Stacey Wolfe, assistant director of special education, noticed students were already adjusting to the new routine and building.
“Students are showing us which spaces they gravitate towards and what they’re enjoying within the space,” said Wolfe. “They’re entering with smiles on their faces and showing independence within our suites. It’s been amazing to watch.”
Glenbrook administrators met for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new location of the Glenbrook Transition Services Center at 1200 Shermer Road on Aug. 8.
Glenbrook Transition Services provides individualized support for students who are eligible for continued special education services after graduation, giving students what they need to grow and become independent, Wolfe said.
“We’re taking all those amazing skills that students had learned in their four years in our high schools and now we’re applying them to the real world and looking at transferring those skills out into real-life situations,” Wolfe said.
There are just over 65 students participating in Glenbrook Transition Services this year, Wolfe said.
“Due to our numbers growing this year and a need for more space for direct instruction for our students with higher needs, we needed to look for a larger location,” Wolfe said.
According to transition teacher Jaclyn Glasebrook, the previous space consisted of only two office suites that could no longer accommodate students.
“We faced challenges when meetings were scheduled, as there were not enough offices available for other activities,” said Glasebrook. “The lack of private areas made it difficult for case managers to work with students and for therapists to meet in a private space.”
The new location has more space for meetings and classrooms as well as a new kitchen with a stove and oven so students can learn how to cook meals, Glasebrook said.
According to Skip Kumm, director of special education, while students might be in the community all day long, a lot of them come back to the Glenbrook Transition Services Center for lunch.
“They’re laughing, they’re talking [and] they’re telling jokes,” said Kumm. “They’re all having a really good time and just being able to have that big meal space where they’re cooking together, eating together, cleaning together, doing everything that young adults do. It’s been so much fun to watch.”
The goal of Glenbrook Transition Services is for a student’s last day in the program to look like the next day in their life, Kumm said.
According to Wolfe, Glenbrook Transition Services focus on development and education, employment and daily living skills.
“In the Glenbrooks, we are constantly looking at how we can provide the best opportunities for access to instruction and allow for students to have a strong sense of identity and a feeling of belonging to their space and their environment and their community. And so this was just an opportunity for us to continue to grow and develop in all of those ways,” Wolfe said.