Camelot celebrates opening of new therapeutic day school in Mount Prospect

(Mt. Prospect, IL – December 8, 2011)

Mayor Irvana Wilks joined members of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce and Camelot Schools executives at a ribbon cutting ceremony tonight celebrating the opening of a new Camelot Schools therapeutic day school in the village.

“We are very excited by the promise brought by this new school,” Mayor Wilks told the crowd of 100 teachers, parents and community members who came to tour the newly renovated state-of-the-art facility on Slawin Court.

“We are pleased to be a part of the Mount Prospect community,” said Joseph Carter, Camelot’s Chief Operating Officer. “We believe that our school will be an asset to the community both because of the vital educational service we provide for these exceptional children and because of the teaching and support jobs we will bring to Mount Prospect.”

The school will serve approximately 120 students ages 3 to 22 from 30 school districts in Chicagoland. Students at the therapeutic day school are referred by their home school districts because they have emotional or behavioral issues that the schools cannot handle, such as autism and cognitive disabilities. Camelot coordinates an educational curriculum with the home school districts and also offers a wide range of specialized therapies and services to meet the needs of these special children.

The new Mount Prospect school has an expanded transitional program to help older students move into the larger community. The vocational training program includes tracks in culinary arts and automotives. The school also works to place older students in jobs in the community.

“This is the building of our dreams,” said Principal Sheila Deal, who helped oversee the school’s move from a smaller building in Des Plaines.