special education

HCIS students who receive special education services exist under the same
overarching expectations as any of their
classmates:

• to become self-directed learners
• to identify and build on their learning strengths
• to participate actively in their own education

All that is achieved by focusing on strengths, and by empowering students with
strategies for broad and specific situations: How can I stay organized? How
can I take tests comfortably? How can I complete this homework
task?

Those compelling tactics - engaging students by giving them real life and
academic skills instead of drilling content over and over - have led to an
inclusive, satisfying environment. While most public schools' dropout rates
among students who receive special services is around 60 percent, HCIS's is
zero.

Such tactics also create valuable self-knowledge among kids who in other
schools aren't often encouraged to develop it. By realizing what their
strengths are, how they learn, and how they can complete tasks, they're
preparing themselves for college, work, or whatever post-secondary life awaits
them.