The Julie Billiart School is a place that helps students who experience learning disabilities and social differences, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety through a multitude of support systems. The new Julie Billiart school will be taking the place of the old Chippewa Elementary School. The school is currently going through renovations and is planning to open to the public at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
At Julie Billiart, staff member tries their best to ensure children are advocated for in all situations to help provide the best possible care while also providing children with an education that will serve them for the rest of their lives
“The mission of Julie Billiart Schools is to nurture and empower students with special learning and social needs. We want all of our students to have a sense of love, acceptance, and belonging. We place heavy emphasis on executive functioning, extra time for work, a muted calming environment, sensory equipment integrated throughout the classrooms, and calm-down spaces. All of these work together to make sure our students feel their best so they can learn their best,” says Samantha Evers, Principal at the Brecksville location of the Julie Billiart School.
At the Julie Billiart School, staff members work with students to ensure they have the skills needed in the classroom as well as the support to ensure their success when moving on to high school. “We utilize curriculum and instructional programs aligned to the state standards. What makes us different is that we also have intervention materials and supplemental resources to support students in closing their academic gaps,” states Evers.
Evers also says, “Something else we are extremely proud of is the advocacy work we do for families with special needs children. We work directly with state legislators to communicate the value of special needs services and fiercely advocate for increased funding for all. We hope that we continue to see all state scholarships increase for families.”
Julie Billiart has staff that are certified Intervention Specialists and offer many onsite help such as “art, music, speech, and occupational therapy. There is also one BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) per campus for behavioral guidance and support. Students receive 7 hours of direct intervention [daily], interact with a licensed School Counselor for mental health support, and have access to two IS’s per grade, keeping [classroom] ratios small (1:6 in grades K-2, 1:8 in grades 3-8),” Evers explains.
Julie Billiart offers schooling to grades K-8 at all their locations including Akron, Brecksville, Lyndhurst, and Westlake. “We believe it is important for us to help create those core foundational skills to set students up for success later in life,” says Evers. “We want to allow all students to take what they have learned at JB and succeed in more typical environments in the future.”
JB also offers after-school programs and clubs such as Art Club, Running Club, Snapology, Bro Council, and Grace & Grit. Evers goes into some detail and says, “Bro Council and Grace & Grit help our middle school students learn essential life and social skills to help set them up for success.”
According to the Julie Billiart School website, there is no fee to apply to Julie Billiart; the tuition to JB for the 2024-2025 school year is around $35,000. However, Evers explains there are plenty of scholarships and financial aid available that students can apply. “All students qualify for one of two state scholarships, which significantly reduces the cost of tuition at JB. We are providers for both the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship and the Autism Scholarship. We never want cost to be prohibitive to a child benefitting from a JB education.”
Evers finishes by saying, “We are so excited to be opening our next campus in Brecksville. We have felt so extremely welcomed by everyone we’ve met. We have such an appreciation for the rich history and sense of community this city brings and can’t wait to welcome our families into this community.”
To learn more about how to apply to Julie Billiart follow this link to their website:
https://www.juliebilliartschool.org/
