New High School Is First Dedicated Solely To Students With Learning Disabilities
New High School Caters Only To Those With Learning Disabilities
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A unique school is opening its doors today in Chicago.
WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports, until now, students with learning disabilities who wanted to go to a college preparatory high school had no place in Chicago that was dedicated specifically to their needs.
The new Wolcott School in the Ukrainian Village, opening Wednesday, will be the first in the city designed solely for students with learning disabilities. It will start with an inaugural class of 35 freshmen and sophomores.
The head of the school, Miriam Pike, spent 30 years as chair of the special education department at Deerfield High School.
She said, before Wolcott, parents of special ed students faced difficult choices to get their kids into a program to prepare them for college.
"Do they send their student to a boarding school, out of state, where these types of programs were available?" she said. "Another consideration that many families thought about is 'Do I move from Chicago?'"
Now several families are sending their children to Wolcott in Chicago, from as far away as Lake Forest, Aurora, and Homewood. One family is moving to the city from New Mexico.
Tuition for the school costs $37,500 a year.
