Circuit Breaker School

Where respect, responsibility,
and making appropriate choices is our focus.

Circuit Breaker School, located in Peru, Illinois, is the public school established by L.E.A.S.E. to serve students with emotional and/or behavioral delays.  Components of the Circuit Breaker School program include:

• A highly structured learning environment.
• Small ratio of students to staff members.
• Multiple opportunities for the development of social, behavioral, academic, and home and community skills.
• Individual student behavior management plan.
• Involvement of community, county, and state agencies.

The name Circuit Breaker School is derived from the concept that we wish to break the cycle of poor grades causing poor behavior and poor behavior causing poor grades.  We strive to "break-the-circuit" by helping the student acquire skills which enhance academic achievement and allow ideas to be communicated more appropriately within the expectations of the community.  The ultimate goal of Circuit Breaker School is to enable student to successfully return to their home school or complete high school graduation requirements and be prepared for adult employment.

• School Philosophy

  • We believe that human behavior has meaning and can be understood only with some understanding of the person and of the environment in which the behavior and the responses to it occur.  A student is placed at Circuit Breaker School because the multi-disciplinary team understands that the student is having difficulty in coping with other students, adults, or situations.

  • We believe that Circuit Breaker School should be organized so that students have an opportunity to develop to their fullest potential.  The organization must be able to adapt to the changing needs of the students, community and the educational system.

  • We believe that we become an intervention team for the meaningful benefit of each young person, regardless of his or her emotional or physical maturity.

• Academic Performance and Behavior Management

  • The Circuit Breaker School provides a setting where the dual goals of teaching appropriate social/emotional behavior and increasing academic performance can be satisfied.  The program revolves around a highly structured school setting based upon a comprehensive behavior management system.  In this system, privileges, are earned as each student demonstrates acceptable behavior.  Accordingly, privileges are not earned if behavior becomes unacceptable.

  • Appropriate, individualized instruction is one vehicle which can be employed in enhancing each student’s self-esteem and confidence.  Coupled with an individualized behavior management program, instruction will be in regular school subjects with an emphasis on life-skills, P.E. and pre-vocational.

  • The Circuit Breaker School program behavioral change component is largely based upon the Classroom Community Model.  This model provides positive reinforcement and a consistent intervention approach to address student behavior problems.  This written plan is available to persons within the L.E.A.S.E. organization, Circuit Breaker School students and Circuit Breaker School parents.

• Home/Community Relations

  • Home/school relations are an important aspect of any special education program.  This is particularly true of programs for seriously behaviorally disordered or emotionally disturbed adolescents.  Each student served by the Circuit Breaker School will be assigned to a Social Worker or Counselor.  These individuals will be responsible for:

    • Home Visitations

    • Referral of Family Members to Outside Agencies for Services

    • Regularly Scheduled Group and/or Individual Counseling Sessions

    • Meetings with Each Student's Parents to Review Progress and Goals

Related resources

• Phil Gassman, Principal
  2233 Sixth Street
  Suite One
  Peru, Illinois 61354
  Telephone: 815-220-0740
  Fax: 815-220-0881
  e-Mail: pgassman@lease-sped.org

• Student Attendance Calendar

• Referring a Student

• CBS Parent/Student Guide