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Esperanza School dates back to 1969, when a Hispanic mother living in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago could not find appropriate services for her son with disabilities. She wanted to create a place where families like hers could go and find the academic and developmental services that were not available to her son anywhere else. She had a vision and a dream for her child. Her vision and dream continues to guide our school to ensure that students are reaching their academic, developmental, and social goals. Our mission is to provide instruction and services to people with developmental disabilities to reach their fullest potential toward a productive and independent life in the community.
Esperanza Community Services, located in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that houses an educational program, Esperanza School. Esperanza School focuses on accepting students with severe disabilities whose needs and maladaptive behaviors are too significant to be serviced in the public school setting.
Esperanza School accepts students with a range of disabilities and functioning levels. The majority of students Esperanza School accepts are students that exhibit behaviors that impact their ability to stay in the public school setting. Esperanza School, historically, has excelled at accepting students who exhibit extremely challenging, often times extremely aggressive behaviors that would prohibit them from being successful in other settings.
The most frequent maladaptive behaviors that lead to placement at the school are the following:
Esperanza School has Illinois State Board of Education approval to provide special education services to children with the following primary disability categories:
Esperanza School provides service for students ranging between the ages of 5-21 years old
Students attend from 9:00am to 2:30pm.