About the School

Trinity School was founded in 1950, and has evolved to Trinity Services, Inc. to provide a broad range of supports and services for people with disabilities. The school remains a vital support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21. Issues may include developmental delays, autism, behavioral challenges and attention deficit disorder. The school is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education. When a school district
is unable to provide appropriate services for their students, Trinity School offers an alternative.

Preparing for life in the community
As part of our unique school format, students leave the building regularly to experience aspects of community living, which are structured activities designed to reinforce life skills learned in the classroom. Our goal is to provide the supports and services necessary to help our students achieve their full potential and to live full and abundant lives.

What makes Trinity students so successful?
Our strategy is to provide each student with a caring, compassionate, positive, and reinforcing environment. We have an educational plan that combines a variety of methodologies such as Applied Behavior Analysis, structured teaching, vocational training, community skills instruction (e.g., appropriate use of community services and recreational activities) and life skills training.

Partnership
With over 70 years of experience, Trinity Services, Inc. is uniquely qualified to meet the needs of children and their families and referring school districts. We keep parents aware of students' progress by offering weekly or daily progress notes to parents, quarterly reports to school districts, semi-annual parent/
teacher conferences and annual IEP meetings.

Technology
The school is equipped with WiFi, and each classroom has a computer and iPad. A Smart Table provides interactive group activities that reinforce academic and social skills. Students also have access to Headsprout, an online reading and comprehension program, and the Unique Curriculum.

Services
Academic Services
• Small classroom size with intensive staff to student ratio
• Curriculum based measures to assess academic progress
Self-Help Skills
• Personal hygiene, food preparation, money management, recreation, leisure skills and social skills training are incorporated in their everyday routine.
Vocational Skills Training
• The student’s interests and strengths are assessed to better prepare them to work in the community
• Our community integrated vocational program provides high school students the opportunity to learn job skills in work settings located around the Lincoln-Way area
Intensive Toilet Training
• Using ABA approach, the behavior analyst, classroom staff and families work together to ensure that toilet training is both fun and successful.
Related Services
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Speech and Language Pathologist
• Occupational Therapist
• Physical Therapist

Curriculum and Resources

n2y Online Platform
n2y is an online curriculum that provides helpful tools for educators to deliver differentiated learning for students with special needs. It enhances learning by using standards-based academic content, skill-based learning activities and self-regulation tools. We utilize the Unique Learning System ®, News-2-You and Symbolstix as part of our curriculum.

The Unique Learning system is specifically designed for students with special needs. It provides students, from pre-school up to transition/vocational age,  standards-based materials that will aid in their instructional needs. It also has embedded assessment tools that measures student growth and serves as a tool for transition planning. It is able to provide a holistic approach to a student’s unique learning styles and skill level. Students are also able to access the platform, which helps build independence and ownership over their own academic success.

News-2-You is a current events newspaper that comes out weekly. The topics are timely and include a variety of interesting subjects. There are five different reading levels to choose from so every child’s skill level is taken into consideration. It can be accessed online with interactive speaking pages or using printed pages. This enhances the student’s learning experience and makes sure that they are able to actively participate. There are also enrichment activities in connection with the weekly topics such as the comprehension activity, cooking, writing, math and even a funny page. Breaking news articles are also included in order to make sure that the students are fully engaged with what’s going on in the community. The Breaking news is comprised of world, sports and entertainment news.

SymbolStix is a tool used by the educators to create a symbol-based language and learning materials. It helps create representations of people, events and activities that is suitable for all age levels. It also reflects multicultural classroom with its changeable skin tone feature. There are over 30,000 symbols in our disposable which makes it easier to provide students with visual aids.

Essential for Living (EFL)
EFL is a communication, behavior and functional skills curriculum, assessment and skill-tracking instrument for children and adults with moderate to severe disabilities. The focus of this instrument is to teach skills that are necessary to insure that the students are able to lead safe, happy and fulfilling lives and that they are integrated into community living to the greatest extent possible. It includes the Essential Eight Skills or must-have skills across the following skill domains: Requests and related listener responses; Listener Responses, names and descriptions; Answers to questions and conversations; Daily living and related skills; Functional academic skills; Tolerating skills and Problem behavior tool skill and component skills.

Headsprout
Headsprout is an online tool that provides tailored instruction for students to learn how to read. It is designed to adapt to different learning skills and student’s needs. There is a built-in instructional sequence and helps in the retention of skills through repetition and smart error correction. The instruction focuses on fundamentals such as phonological awareness, phonics and fluency. Reading comprehension is enhanced by learning skills such as making inferences, identifying main ideas and decoding vocabulary using context clues. Students are able to learn in their own pace and they are able to access the platform on their own which encourages independence.

Reading A-Z
Reading A-Z is an online platform that contains more than 2,000 books at 29 reading levels to ensure that teachers are able to choose developmentally appropriate content for each student. There is a variety of genres that include fiction and non-fiction. The differentiated texts and materials make it accessible for students to learn either in a one-on-one or group setting.

BrainPop
BrainPop is an educational website that contains over 1,000 short animated movies on a variety of subjects such as Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Engineering and Technology, Health, Arts and Music. Students are encouraged to explore a topic that is of interest to them. It contains differentiated enrichment activities that help boost learning. It also has integrated Social Emotional Learning that teaches strategies in managing feelings and behavior. The format makes it accessible for students to learn individually or in a group.

Circles Curriculum
The Circles program helps the students understand different boundaries in relationships. It utilizes visuals with the use of six color coded concentric circles. Each circle represents the appropriate behavior, feelings and actions.  This is further enhanced in the daily interactions with teachers and classmates. We also utilize the Circles App to provide augment learning and reiterate social boundaries.

Circles Program

Fun and Learning
• Spirit Week — A theme-based week focused on building school spirit and Trinity pride
• Trick or treating at Trinity’s TLCs — Holiday activity complete with warm cider and plenty of treats
• School fairs — Students enjoy the opportunity to participate in the Science Fair and Multicultural Day
•  Thanksgiving luncheon — We show our appreciation to our students and their families by preparing a nice Thanksgiving meal to share with them.
• Summer Activities — Students are able to explore a variety of clubs on a rotating basis such as gardening, cooking, technology, dance and other activities
• Other special events — Jr. High and High School dances, Dr. Seuss Week, Firefighter week, Winter Wonderland Party, Spring Fling, End of the year picnic and graduation ceremony.

For more information about Trinity School, contact Director Stacey Paprocki at 815-463-0719 or by email Stacey at spaprocki@trinityservices.org.

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