AERO school’s new home will be former Queen of Peace site
Representatives from the four founding schools of the AERO special education cooperative were joined Monday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other elected officials at the groundbreaking of a new facility that is set to open two years from now at the site of the former Queen of Peace High School in Burbank.
Argo, Evergreen Park, Reavis and Oak Lawn Community high schools are the founding schools involved with the program that serves special-needs students.
The program has since expanded to include all feeder schools for Argo, Evergreen Park, Reavis and Oak Lawn, now encompassing 11 school districts.
The AERO Therapeutic Center will be a 150,000-square-foot, two-story building with two courtyards, wheelchair accessibility and two elevators at the site of the former Queen of Peace High School at 77th Street and Linder Avenue.
When it opens in the fall of 2023, it will be the first time in the special education cooperative’s 58-year history in which all AERO students will be under one roof.
“AERO students and staff need a new school that is fully accessible, safe and conducive to learning,” James Gunnell, executive director of special education for AERO, said.
AERO’s current schools and learning environments are not fully accessible, Gunnell said.
He added that the current facilities are “small and overcrowded with students and equipment.”
But the new AERO Therapeutic Center will not only address those needs, it will give AERO one of the largest special education facilities in Illinois.
It will “allow for the expansion of programs and services to meet our current and future needs of serving students with emotional and mental health needs,” Gunnell said.
“The number of students identified as having adverse childhood experiences is exploding,” he said. “The new AERO Therapeutic Center will serve future students with disabilities and families for the next 50 years.”
Pritzker said he’s “proud Illinois is investing $25 million for a new AERO campus that matches the quality therapeutic and educational services they provide.”
Steger police donation boosts bike recycling effort
A 25-bike donation from Steger Police pushed the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s fall Recycle Your Bicycle program to a record.
A total of 147 bikes were collected during the program, which ended Oct. 31. That topped the previous record of 127 bikes collected in fall 2017. The bikes will be picked up by Chicago-based Working Bikes, and most of them will be rehabbed for use by people in need.
Deputy Chief Gerald Ruff and Sgt. Pete Fajman of the Steger Police Department dropped off the bikes Oct. 28 at Monee Reservoir Visitor Center. Fajman said all the bikes donated by Steger Police were unclaimed bikes that had been in storage at the police department.
At a certain point each year, the department runs out of room at the public works garage and the squad car garage and the bikes have to go, he said.
Angie Opiola, program coordinator at Monee Reservoir, is happy word is getting out that the program.
“We are elated because we’re helping police departments and municipalities get rid of bikes in a useful way,” she said.
The Forest Preserve hosts “Recycle Your Bicycle” each spring and fall at Monee Reservoir, and each year about 100 bikes are collected. Before this fall’s collection, 1,046 bikes have been donated since the program began in 2011.
Working Bikes, a nonprofit agency established in 1999, has donated more than 100,000 bikes around the world and locally. Some bikes are sold to support the organization; others are refurbished and sent to those who need a mode of transportation. Globally, Working Bikes sends repaired bicycles to Latin America and Africa including, El Salvador, Guatemala, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Uganda, Ghana, and many others.
In Chicago and the suburbs, repaired bicycles are donated to veteran hospitals, health and human service agencies, transitional housing facilities, youth organizations, community centers and schools.
South Suburban College sets virtual Family Reading Night
South Suburban College’s Adult Volunteer Literacy Program is hosting a virtual Family Reading Night event at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 from the SSC Facebook page. This free event will present information about community literacy along with stories and live presentations.
SSC’s Adult Education Department administers the Adult Volunteer Literacy Tutoring Program in addition to High School Equivalency, English as a Second Language and Adult Basic Education.
More information about Family Reading Night or the Adult Volunteer Literacy Program is with Dianne Needles at (708) 596-2000, ext. 2558, or dneedles@ssc.edu.
This event is sponsored in part by the SSC Foundation.
Library to offer job search help
Starting Nov. 10, the Midlothian Public Library, 14701 Kenton Ave., will offer free one-on-one tutoring for adults looking to improve technology skills or get assistance searching or applying for jobs online.
This service will be offered from 5-7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, 2-4:30 p.m. on Fridays and noon-3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Computer skills and job coaching consultant Emily Roa will be available to help with tasks like setting up and using an email account, learning programs like Microsoft Word or Excel, navigating online job boards and creating a résumé or cover letter. Roa speaks both English and Spanish fluently.
Interested individuals are encouraged to call the library Help Desk in advance at 708-535-2027 to make a 30- or 60-minute appointment, but walk-ins are welcome as time permits.
This service is made possible by the “Bouncing Back from the Pandemic: Developing Resources for the Local Workforce” grant, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and distributed by the Institute for Museum and Library Services via the Illinois State Library.