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Brehm is a co-educational day and college-preparatory boarding school for students with complex learning disabilities situated on 80-acres in the city of Carbondale, Illinois.

Brehm’s mission is to empower students with complex learning disabilities to recognize and optimize their full potential by fostering a family environment where educational, social and emotional needs of each student are addressed in a focused, holistic program through partnership with staff, students, parents, board members and members of the local community.

Brehm draws its diverse student population from across the United States and foreign countries and addresses a wide spectrum of disabilities. Primary diagnoses typically include but are not limited to specific learning disabilities in reading, writing, mathematics, attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, nonverbal learning disabilities, auditory processing disorder, Asperger’s syndrome characteristics and language-based learning differences. Brehm actively seeks and interviews students who may benefit from its unique program. The admission process and hiring policies are non-discriminatory following federal guidelines.

Brehm Preparatory School is located in Carbondale, Illinois and situated on an 80-acre campus that includes the Student Activities Center, health center, five dormitories, two honor student apartments, three classroom buildings, a pond, woodshop, robotics lab, machine shop, pole barn and administration building.

Brehm provides a comprehensive range of services which includes instruction in core academic studies, remedial services and compensatory strategies for skill-deficient areas, social-skills development, life-skills development, recreational programming, cultural enrichment, career counseling, prevocational exploration and speech and language therapy. Psychological counseling and other related services are available as needed on a contractual basis.

Brehm offers course work in accordance with Illinois’ State Standards. Brehm has been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education in 1992-1993. The school is a member of the National Association of Private Special Educative Centers and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The junior and senior high school programs are accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Additional electives, such as remediation and speech and language therapies which support the core academic programs are also available.

Students engage in a variety of structured extra-curricular activities following the academic day. Recreational opportunities include off-campus excursions, cultural events, community activities and a variety of organized recreational clubs. Brehm students are immersed in a milieu of social-skills training through out the day. Formalized social-skills groups are formed which deal with school culture, dorm issues and includes intensive training in peer and adult relationships. Additional after-school programs are available and may include Fast ForWord Instruction and speech and language therapy, Tutorial services offered during the structured evening study period.

Mrs. Carol Brehm founded Brehm Preparatory School in 1982. Mrs. Brehm resided in Mt.Vernon, Illinois and was the mother of Tyson Brehm, a high-school student with learning disabilities. She founded the school in order to provide a program which would meet the needs of her son and other children with learning disabilities. Carbondale was selected largely due to the geographical availability of resources in higher education such as Southern Illinois University and John A. Logan College.

Brehm is a not-for-profit organization. The school is governed by a board of trustees composed of members of the administration, faculty, parents of students and local community members.

Brehm provides a holistic educational experience that uniquely integrates the academic, social and emotional needs of its students. It offers a family style environment designed to foster independence and responsibility. Guiding the students within the daily school community are specialized teachers, dorm parents, tutors and dedicated staff members who actively participate in the 24-hour, 7-days a week program.

Brehm students come from 43 states and seven foreign countries. In addition to the student body, the Brehm community includes an active Parents Association. Several Alumni have held employment at Brehm and thus were able to pass along the mentoring and nurturing that they themselves received as students. The administrative and support staff provide the infrastructure which allows a full range of operations and inter-relationships with all members of the Brehm family.

Full-time dorm parents provide guidance and assistance for students in their living environment. Our recreation programs are evaluated yearly under the leadership of a recreational supervisor thus providing a broad variety of services including involvement within the local community. Thus, local artists, musicians and business people have become a part of the Brehm community.

At Brehm through ongoing evaluations, strategic planning, and subsequent improvements, the methods used to meet the school’s mission continually undergo change. An early innovation was the introduction of the Tier Level System, resulting in students who are more responsible. The initiation and later enhancements in social skills training have been another important evolution. The development of the student yearbook, creative arts, computer design, computer assistive learning lab, community volunteerism and job shadowing are further examples.

Brehm currently utilizes five dormitories on campus with each building accommodating 18 students and two separate honors dorms each serving six students. Each dorm has two dorm parents and dorm assistants supervising student life outside the classroom. Three of the dorms house male students and the two remaining dorms for female students. Likewise, in the honor student dorms, male students are separate from female students.

The residential life is a carefully organized living experience. Brehm’s expectation for students is that each student grow socially, emotionally and academically during their time at Brehm.

• Brehm students are enrolled in grades 6-12.

• OPTIONS, our post-secondary, college transition program is located on a separate campus for students age 18-21.

• A holistic approach to teaching, addresses our students’ academic, social and emotional needs within a nurturing family environment.

• Small class size, 8 in core content classes, 5 in learning cognition classes. Brehm’s Student-Teacher ratio is 4:1.

• Five full-time speech and language therapists and teachers certified in content areas and LD certified trained in multi-sensory teaching techniques are provided. Students are seen individually as well as in small groups.

• Reading intervention programs at Brehm include the Orton-Gillinham, Lindamood-Bell, Wilson Reading, Project Read, Language!, Fast ForWord and Reading Coach. Each student is provided a laptop with learning assistive technology for the academic year.

• Brehm’s Social Skills intervention programs includes Dialectic Behavior Therapy group with graduated social skills, a female empowerment group and an adoption support group.

• Four full time nurses on staff and partnership with psychologists and psychiatrists in the community provides clinical support and medication management.

• The annual international trip and ski trip are scheduled well in advance. Basketball, soccer and additional outdoor sports and clubs are organized in order to tap into the student abilities and preferences.

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