Sangamon County Regional Safe Schools Programs

In 1994 the Illinois General Assembly passed the Safe School Act, which allows Regional Offices of Education [ROE] to provide programs outside the normal classroom for expelled, chronically disruptive students or students with multiple suspensions.

Sangamon County determined that it was imperative to include educators from all of their unit districts in the planning. The entire planning team felt it important that the program be flexible in order to meet the needs of individual students and districts. Two program locations were selected for the initial phase of Safe Schools, Lawrence and Douglas schools, both in Springfield. A program for 7th and 8th grade students was added in 1999. It is located at the Capital Area Career Center.

The academic component of the curriculum is a self-paced computer based program. The teacher student ratio is kept low in order to enhance the success of the students. All teachers are trained in Aggression Replacement Training to enable them to best meet the behavioral needs of these students. For further information contact the Program Director Mary Loken at 217.585.8090.