Our academic program includes the core curriculum delivered primarily through web-based programming, managed/facilitated by staff, where courses are designed to meet each referring district’s graduation requirements.  Direct, teacher-taught courses focus on the areas highlighted in the introduction and will include instruction in critical thinking, the use of logical thinking in problem solving, ethical living, healthy lifestyles (physically fit & drug free), consumerism, fine arts, environmentalism, and citizenship.  Educational simulations and case studies are primary teaching tools in these areas.

In courses taught through our web-based curriculum, the assessment protocols that are part of each course are  used to measure learning of the material.  All artifacts (written, pictorial, video) produced by a student that are a culmination of a unit of learning will be saved in a portfolio.  As a non-standardized way to measure progress, each student’s portfolio will provide another, less traditional way to measure academic growth. The ‘portfolio’ assessment will be the primary way to measure improvements in writing/composing. Each month, every student will be given an individualized writing prompt.  Felicity staff uses the ACT Writing Rubric to score each sample.  In our teacher-taught courses, learning is measured through authentic assessments that will use ‘challenge’ scenarios found in life to measure a student’s application of knowledge. While standardized, multiple-choice, high stakes tests are the de rigueur measure of a student’s learning at this time, using authentic measures is a better way to assess a student’s ability to think critically.  Students become better at taking standardized tests as a by-product of being logical, problem solvers who can apply their knowledge and learned thinking skills to every question.

Felicity School uses clinical interventions to strengthen the emotional stability and to change non-social behaviors into positive interactions with adults and peers.  Our clinical approach is be based on the Life Skills Crisis Intervention (LSCI) model that infuses a supportive approach into the milieu of our school making it a basic tenet of our work with students. Many of the topics that are part of our academic program are reinforced through clinical involvement with staff especially in the areas of living a drug-free life, the development of social skills and the use of art and music to allow for different avenues for students to express themselves. Individual journaling is used to help each student record their progress and work toward leading an emotionally stable, fulfilling life.  Each student’s Case Manager is responsible to give written and supportive feedback  through a return comment to journal entries.  Staff is all trained in LSCI.  An ongoing professional development program aimed at supporting staff in consistently applying the LSCI approach is in place that will include periodic visits by our LSCI Trainer/Consultant.

At Felicity School, we believe that one of the primary goals of education is to lead students toward becoming productive contributors to our economic society.  Through the teaching of “good-employee”skills, from the importance of being on-time to a job, to the necessity of being able to work with others in the job setting, we will be helping students move toward becoming contributing members of our economic society.  Our efforts are reinforced through access to job sites with a myriad of private employers located within walking distance of our location.  The businesses located in our area range from retail to recreational and investment to mechanical.   Two partnerships have already been established with our congruent neighbors, a nationally franchised auto service shop and a nationally franchised bowling alley. There are vocational opportunities available within the building where we are located.  These opportunities include tournament support jobs, food service jobs, customer service jobs, and sports marketing jobs. We will further teach to the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur in our society, offering our students the opportunity to investigate entrepreneurial options that might be open to them.

Using the outdoors as our classroom, during the summer programming months, as part of our Extended School Year experience, Felicity School will teach courses in one or more areas of science (Environmental Science, Meteorology, Geology, and/or Zoology) while hosting multiple-week excursions into wilderness settings. Physical Education credit will also be earned upon successful completion of this experience.  Students will spend the second semester of the school year learning required outdoor living skills (cooking in an outdoor setting), planning for a comfortable, extended trip (menu and equipment preparation) and developing a level of fitness that is required for a successful outdoor experience. During this preparation phase, we will access the Cook County Forest Preserve lands located within a half mile of our school’s location. Backpacking, river/lake paddling and rock climbing will provide the backdrop for our classroom experiences. These excursions will serve the dual purpose of providing our students with exposure to the beauty of nature’s vastness while giving us an authentic way to assess our students’ fitness and to assess the development of social skills within our students as measured in a stressful setting.  To get the maximum benefit from an experience like this, there will be a family connection that includes a pre-trip session and an extended post-trip session where the Felicity School staff will facilitate the integration of family members into the return process.  In the fall of the following school year, we will provide outdoor experiences that will build on the lessons learned during the extended trips.