Inside the Yellow Door Newsletter – Spring/Summer 2020

Dear Friends,

COVID-19 changed everything, and today, our world continues to face scary and uncertain times. The O-School has not been exempted from these challenges. Yet, as you will see in this issue, the O-School has found ways to keep our community together and to continue providing the individualized educational and therapeutic programs that our students need to succeed. That is why, in this issue, we say thank you to all of our friends. It is only because of your continued support and generosity that we were able to not only respond, but also in many ways thrive during these unprecedented times.

— Diana Kon, Ed.D. Executive Director

Behind Yellow Doort h e

Providing a Safe Haven and a Path to Hope

Unwavering Light in the Shadow of Covid-19

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ince 1915, the O-School has provided a safe haven and a path to hope for children and young adults with significant social-emotional needs by providing a thoughtful, consistent, and immersive approach to care, treatment, and academics — all in a family like setting. But what happens when the physical community and environment disappear? Like all educational institutions, the O-School had to abruptly reinvent itself when the pandemic began.

“What makes the O-School standout is the atmosphere, and the relationships students develop. Last spring, we had to figure out how to duplicate that remotely,” says O-School Executive Director Dr. Diana Kon. “The challenge was less about translating a curriculum into a digital format and more about finding creative ways to preserve the relationships that are the core of all learning and growth.”

Learn how the O-School has managed the unforeseen pivot to e-learning and e-therapy platforms without losing our human touch while navigating the pandemic in the latest blog

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 131,000 schools and almost 14,000 school districts serve 51 million students in the United States. Before the pandemic, only 3.3 percent of students were homeschooled, and only 21 percent of public schools offered online learning options. In March, Covid-19 forced schools across the nation to convert face-to-face learning into an online format.

Student Updates/Stories

e-Fun Brings Students and Staff Together While Apart

During the current school closure, we’ve had to move much of our programming online, including education, case management, and therapy. But as everyone in our community knows, the O-School is more than the sum of our clinical and educational parts. We sometimes refer to this as the “O-School Magic” — that secret ingredient that makes our school so vital and special.

One of the reasons our community is so dynamic is that we know how to come together and have fun. Much of our program is focused on joy — helping kids find, and do, what they love. It is through programs and events such as Summer Fun, dorm activities, dance groups, Shakespeare Slam, and others that our students are able to let their guards down and connect with peers and staff members.

As soon as we realized we had to move to remote programming due to Covid-19, we knew we needed to find a way to move fun online. We decided to address this problem with the creation of e-fun, which includes Zoom-based O-School hangouts for students and staff members. Even though we can’t see each other in person, Zoom allows us to see each other’s faces while we participate in classic O-School silliness, including online charades, scavenger hunts, art hangouts, group workouts, pet show and tells, read alouds, Lego parties, trivia contests, and open mic.

Without a doubt, we can’t wait to get back to school. There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. But, until then, we’re thrilled to know that many of our students and staff members are finding joy in e-fun.

BWC update

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he O-School’s Brooke Whitted Center (BWC), which opened in 2016, provides transitional support to college-capable emerging adults as they attend college, vocational training, or build a work history. During Covid-19, the BWC continues to provide participants with fulltime support.

This spring, the BWC began offering the Greenwood System 120, a process-oriented vocational assessment that guides individuals as they develop an action plan based on personal profiles, values, and motivators. This assessment integrates questions looking at the Grit Scale that measures the extent to which individuals are able to maintain focus and interest, and persevere in obtaining long-term goals, the Myers-Briggs, Holland Codes, and interviews, providing BWC participants with the opportunity to reflect on their strengths and goals as they consider the best fit for a career path.

Be sure to view the new BWC brochure here, and visit the website to see the latest information, news, and updates.

Multicultural Student Union Launched

inclusion, and representation. The students hope this group will help create a strong O-School community for students of color in which all MSU members feel accepted, recognized, and valued for their roots, heritage, and identities.

Before the Covid-19 school closure, MSU had two monthly meetings and enjoyed an incredible field trip to the South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC), a Historic Landmark in Chicago that “preserves and promotes the legacy and future of African American arts and artists while educating the community of the value of arts and culture.” During this field trip, planned by Andrea Fitzgerald Hill, our amazing art teacher, students learned about the remarkable history of SSCAC, founded in 1941 by Margaret Burroughs, and had an opportunity to play a piano once played by Nat King Cole, who often visited the art center.

This January, we launched our newest leadership group - the Multi-Cultural Student Union (MSU). MSU is a leadership group for students of color, proposed by one of our high school students. The group meets monthly to create a safe space - within the larger O-School safe space - for students of color to express themselves and celebrate as they learn about cultural, racial, and ethnic groups in America and around the world. In addition, student members of MSU will work on service projects throughout the year, getting involved in various types of activism and public outreach related to issues of race and racism.

The group will sponsor events, fundraisers, and educational activities for the entire school community that are focused on anti-racism, equity,

Virtual Graduations Continue Tradition, Allow Closure

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n 2020, all O-School traditions have had to be flexible, including one of the most wonderful O-School traditions, graduation. While students graduating from the O-School this spring and summer won’t have a typical O-School graduation, plans were established to ensure that each student still feels the specialness of this big day and can take pride in their great achievement in the presence of their family and members of the community.

During remote programming, each graduating student has designed their own graduation, with various celebratory options. As with in-person celebrations, Zoom ceremonies include staff speakers and speeches from the graduates and their families. It’s not face-to-face, but it’s as close to the O-School experience as we can get during the pandemic. Of course, graduates still receive specially chosen gifts that represent their time at the O-School.

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his month, O-School staff members visited students’ homes to drop off special care packages from the school. Drop-offs were 100 percent contact-free, but it was a joy to see so many students and families waving at us from 10 feet away. The care packages included a small plant with yellow flowers, an O-School cell-phone holder, some classic O-School “bag snacks” (Chex Mix), and notes from key staff members. Our students and their families were happy to see our faces, and they definitely felt the love and cheer we sent their way.

Student Care Packages Bring Smiles Student Food Drive Helps Those in Need

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hanks to a food drive conducted by O-School students pri or to the Covid-19 stay-at-home order, the O-School was able to deliver 485 pounds of food to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for local families in need this spring.

Residential e-Programming Provides Link to Support and Activities

o meet all of our students individualized needs, counselors, dorm managers, CIL, and leadership staff have worked hard to develop a variety of options and opportunities for students to engage in across platforms. For instance, dorms are now using Zoom, phone calls, and Edmodo to engage with students. Throughout the week, each dorm continues to provide staples of our residential programming, such as dorm meetings, exercise night, movie night, and all-school events on weekends.

On weekdays, the dorms have their own unique programming that reflects the students they serve. On weekends, dorm counselors take turns planning activities such as freeze dance, yoga, and show and tell. In addition, CIL leads a student support group on Sundays for students to connect and share struggles, successes, and anything else that comes to mind.

job students!

To maintain relationships, dorm managers have increased student calls to as many as six per week based on individual student needs. Dorm counselors meet students where they’re at on the calls. Some students prefer lighthearted conversations about their days or joking with counselors with whom they have already developed close bonds. Others have needed emotional support to process feelings, get through a tough moment, or cope with all that is going on in their homes and the world.

The Parent Corner

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n an effort to help parents feel supported and connected to one another, especially during this difficult time, the O-School offers weekly Zoom parent support groups. These support groups give parents an opportunity to share their struggles, successes, and receive support from our staff and one another as they ride out the pandemic.

There is often a good bit of laughter as well, which feels particularly therapeutic in these uncertain times.

O-School Parent Support Group Goes Virtual Winding Path Parent Series Continues

The O-School is excited to offer a continuation of The Winding Path Ahead Parent Transition Series this spring. These sessions are designed to provide O-School parents with an opportunity to learn valuable information on a variety of topics that are integral to planning students’ transition from high school to adult life.

The series began with a seminar on Guardianship and Special Needs Trusts in May. In June, participants learned about federal ABLE Accounts, which make it possible for people with disabilities and their families to save and invest for expenses related to living with a disability without losing, or losing access to, federal means-tested benefits such as Social Security and Medicaid.

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O-School Virtual

Prom is a Hit

he O-School values tradition, and few O-School traditions are as beloved as our annual all school Prom. When it became clear that we had to cancel our on-site/in-person Prom due to the pandemic, many members of our community were heartbroken, as Prom is always one of the most joyful days of the year.

When the idea of doing an e-Prom was proposed (by one of our amazing staff members), we were excited but somewhat skeptical.

Could we make e-Prom fun?

Could an online event possibly create a similar experience of community and celebration? Turns out, O-School magic is powerful and can rise to the occasion, even over Zoom. E-Prom, held the afternoon of June 4, was a charming, joyful, uplifting hour complete with an incredible playlist (DJ’d by our music teacher), dancing staff and students, 1920s-style Zoom backgrounds and outfits (the theme was “Roaring 20s”), and a lively and hilarious Zoom chat.

Many staff members and students reported feeling the power of our school community loud and clear through their screens, which meant a lot to all of us.

Long live e-Prom!

Staff Updates/Stories

O-School Earns Top Accreditation

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e have big news. This past fall, the O-School’s residential program was reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), which provides the highest level of private accreditation to human service providers across North America, including residential treatment centers. This reaccreditation is the culmination of a year of hard work.

Not only did we earn our reaccreditation, reaffirming that our program meets the highest levels of organizational excellence, but our COA reviewers were beyond impressed by our entire residential program and school, our board of directors and — most of all — our phenomenal students and staff members. Go O-School team!

First Ever Virtual Tour with Education Consultants

In May, the O-School team, along with student tour guides and a parent, presented during the O-School’s first ever Virtual Tour. The tour hosted members of the Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA) and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), two groups that help families find appropriate supports and programs for children with special needs. More than 15 educational consultants from across the country participated in the event.

O-School Annual Report Receives National Award

The O-School communications department recently received a publication award in the 2020 National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) National School Communications Awards program.

The 2019-20 O-School Annual Report received the honorable mention in the NSPRA Publications and Digital Media Awards that recognizes outstanding education digital media programs, publications, e-newsletters, marketing materials, videos, social media, websites and more. View all the Publications and Digital Media award winners here.

The O-School award is among one of only 24 NSPRA annual report rewards distributed to school systems nationwide. The award categories were excellent, merit, and honorable mention.

This is the very first time the O-School has received an NSPRA award. Each year, NSPRA sponsors a national communications contest to recognize school districts for their efforts in school public relations.

NSPRA was chartered in 1935 and provides school communication training and services to school system leaders in the nation’s almost 14,000 school districts throughout the United States.

Jacqui Sanders, Ph.D.

It is with great sadness as well as considerable appreciation and respect that we honor Jacqui Sanders, Ph.D., who passed away in May. Jacqui dedicated more than 30 years of her life to the O-School, including 20 years as director. She helped the school navigate some of its most challenging times.

A powerful mentor, clinician, and educator, Jacqui distinguished herself through her loving and tireless dedication to O-School students and staff. She personified the healing power of human-to-human relationships, and as a result, her greatest impact can be measured in the generations of loving, caring, and capable former students and staff members whose lives she touched. The O-School honored Jacqui at last year’s gala, and she saw the gathering as a validation of her life’s work.

To read Jacqui’s powerful words from that evening, please click here.

Frank T. Burns

This January, we lost a dear friend and valued colleague, Frank T. Burns, or as he was better known, “Coach Frank.” For the past 17 years, Coach Frank became a staple and familiar face serving as the beloved Physical Education teacher at the O-School. Coach Frank would take the most uninterested or uncoordinated student and turn them into someone who felt strong, athletic, and confident in their body. He gave each student a funny and personalized nickname that made each child feel important and empowered.

In true O-School fashion, Coach Frank could find a connection with, literally, anyone. When someone came to the O-School and met Coach Frank, even if that person lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Coach Frank somehow found someone they both knew in common. He was truly a people person in every way, and he surrounded himself with strong and loving communities - both at the O-School and in his personal life. He loved being part of a team - and we loved having him on ours!

Unwavering Light in the Shadow of Covid-19

The O-School was no different. In response to the mandate that all Illinois schools close in March, the O-School coordinated with families to safely send students home, moving all programs and services to remote platforms. This marked the first time in the school’s century-long history that no students were on campus.

“It was an incredibly stressful time,” says Kon, who has served the O-School for 25 years. But the O-School rallied. Under the talented leadership of O-School Principal Michelle Zarrilli and Director of Therapy and Assessment Lauren Berebitsky, the education and therapy teams rolled out an e-learning schedule within two days.

Giving O-School students a sense of normalcy during the pandemic has required a balance of academics, fun, discovery, and other e-learning activities. Each week, students had 45 points of potential contact with the school through academic and therapy programs, and potentially dozens more with e-residential activities, online recreational activities and hangouts like e-fun, student leadership e-meetings, and psychiatric e-services.

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Finding creative ways to stay connected beyond Zoom has proven challenging, but phone calls, notes, hand-delivered gift bags, and fun recreational opportunities, like Prom and graduations, have helped fill the gap.

Another positive has been the untiring support of O-School parents. Whether following up with their child’s academics, providing feedback, or simply sending a nice note to staff, the support of parents has been greatly appreciated.

“Our parents have been every thing during the pandemic,” says Kon, noting that the O-School has also provided support and outreach specifically for parents during this challenging time in order to help the community navigate this crisis together. “They have been wonderful,” she adds.

Naturally, in the face of the global health crisis, there will be lingering concerns. One example is that the full impact and potential regression caused by these forced changes have yet to be fully realized. Addressing these issues may in form interventions and instruction for years to come. “Yet inside every crisis is opportunity,”

Kon says. “We have learned what traditions successfully translate into virtual connection, and we can capitalize on this once the pandemic is behind us to grow and improve our programs to better support our students.”

To date, the building has been sanitized, protocols have been developed, and Covid-19 safety stations and signage are highly visible as students begin repopulating campus, with eight returning in July and more expected in coming months.

The O-School, like everyone, is in the midst of navigating this global health and economic crisis to the very best of its ability. And while many uncertainties remain, one thing is certain — our commitment to both our students and the work of the school is unwavering.