LIGHT is a tiered program that provides an opportunity for students to work toward their desired postsecondary goals, while providing necessary training for future employment.
Based on student ability and level, students may progress through the tiers and/or may participate more than one tier at a time. Students can move fluidly between tiers.
Tier 1: Daily Living Skills
Tier 1 students are progress monitored per academic semester (winter/spring) based on IEP goals in the areas of education, employment, and independent living. Students will benefit from daily opportunities to experience life activities with reinforcing supports. Instruction of functional academics guide students to perform basic living skills based on post-secondary goals. Students in Tier 1 do not receive grades or pass/fail evaluations.
Tier 2: Community Life Learning
Tier 2 students are informally assessed and evaluated on their individual ability to perform functional academic work, daily living activities, and vocational skills within classroom and community environments. The percentage of completion and level of support required, is used as the evaluation tool rather than assigning letter grades. The Level of Support Scale ranges from a low of 0 for refusal to a high of 5 for independence. Students are assessed using a prompting hierarchy pyramid (i.e natural/gestural, verbal, visual, modeling, or full/partial physical) to complete tasks. Each student’s IEP will be used to measure progress per semester (winter/spring). Students in Tier 2 do not receive grades or pass/fail evaluations.
Tier 3: Foundational Learning
Tier 3 students are exposed to college life without the expectation of taking college classes towards an Associate’s degree or specialized certificate program. Students in Tier 3 receive letter grades for remedial academic courses related to functional reading, writing, and math. Letter grades-A, B, C, D, F- are used to indicate student achievement. For elective courses (i.e. health and fitness, vocational, independent living, etc.), students will receive a Pass or Fail grade. Grades are not added to the high school transcripts and do not go towards their cumulative GPA. Grades are given to students as feedback in the progression of skills taught necessary for post-secondary education, vocation, and independent living goals. Students who enroll in McHenry County College will begin to generate a college GPA. Each student’s IEP will be used to measure progress per semester (winter/spring).
Tier 4: College Connection
Tier 4 students engage in school to career opportunities with the intent of training for full time employment, gaining a certificate, associate’s degree, and/or other advancement. Students in Tier 4 participate in core academic courses (i.e. reading, writing, and math) in order to prepare for the McHenry County College placement exams and work-related hiring assessments. Students will receive letter grades-A, B, C, D, F-as feedback data toward their ability to access the general education at the college level. Students will receive a Pass or Fail for elective courses (i.e. vocational, study skills, etc.). Those who enroll in Mchenry County College courses will begin to generate a college GPA. Each student’s IEP will be used to measure progress per semester (winter/spring).
*When students enter the LIGHT Program, Power School is only used to track student attendance. Grade reports (Tier 3 and Tier 4 only) and goal updates will be issued to all students on a semester basis (winter/spring).
Beyond the Tier: Students that do not fit into the Tiered program structure and continue to benefit from receiving related services. Students are enrolled in McHenry County College courses and/or working in the community receive related services to support the transition to the general education setting, the community, and adult life.
