The Fieldhouse buzzed with activity as representatives from different colleges set up tables to promote their schools to the hundreds of interested students and parents in attendance.
The Choices Fair occurred on Oct. 6, and is an annual event for students with learning differences, allowing students to see what different accommodations and supports different colleges provide. The event had a college fair in the Fieldhouse, as well as three different presentations by various speakers, Smith said. The fair is run by Choices, a consortium of various high schools in the North Shore area, and rotates host schools every year, Julie Smith, Special Education Transition Coordinator and Choices Representative for South, said.
“Choices is almost 50 years old,” Smith said. “People got together to create this resource fair where students can learn about how to access accommodations at the college level, but also to talk directly to the service providers.”
The fair is tailored for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and 504 plans, Smith said. An IEP is a document that details what a student’s strengths and weaknesses are, what the school will remediate for them, and what accommodations they need in order to be successful, Smith explained. A 504 plan is different, only showing what accommodations a student may need, Smith added.
“A student with a 504 is someone that just needs some tweaks to the environment to be successful, whereas students on IEPs might need some additional support and direct intervention in order to help them to become successful in high school,” Smith said.
IEPs are a provision of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which only applies to high school students, while 504 plans fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is not targeted specifically for students, Smith said. Because of this, the laws governing what supports students are legally entitled to changes as they move from high school to college, Matthew Landau, Niles West High School Choices Representative, explained.
“Colleges are essentially for-profit organizations, and they get to decide what they provide and don’t provide,” Landau said. “What they legally have to provide is very little. It’s a big drop off for parents because they’re so used to getting it naturally.”
For many students with learning differences, there are two paths their postsecondary life could go down, Smith said. The majority of students are looking for the traditional college experience and college degree, but some students who are not academically capable of gaining a college degree still want the college experience of independence, Smith said. The Choices fair gives them the opportunity to explore all these options, she added.
“Most of our students here that have an IEP, the majority of them are still college-bound students,” Smith said. “The other clientele that Choices serves are students that maybe aren’t academically capable of doing college-level work, however want a college-like experience. There is a circle of schools that offer programs and services for students that don’t result in a college degree, but work on independent living and vocational skills.”
For students and parents, the fair gives them a chance to explore postsecondary options and feel more prepared for the future. Lindsay Cutler, a parent attending the fair, said.
“It’s good that they’re offering this so we’re better prepared to help our children and so they have the knowledge to make decisions on their own,” Cutler said.
