New Schedule Update Occurring 4/11/22
Hello Families,

We hope you're having a great week! We want to send a quick reminder that our Merlin schedule update will go into effect on April 11th. You will be sent your new and improved schedules TOMORROW.

To reduce therapy team sizes, provide a consistent daily schedule, and transition into a more academically structured day, we are updating each pod to follow either the AM or PM schedule below. Classrooms/Pods will be reassigned based on age and academic focus. Clients will have a mix of 1:1 push in services, small ‘bird group’ rotations and larger group activities. Extended day individual therapy services will be available before and after the Merlin Day. We are hopeful this schedule and therapy team transition will create consistency for our kids, decrease the size of the teams to only 1-2 therapists of each discipline, and better align the structure of the day with ISBE requirements while still maintaining the level of care by your Eyas Landing therapists. 
We realize this update may impact your child’s therapy team and schedule. Our providers will prepare your child with social stories, goodbye sessions if needed, as well as opportunities for them to check in with all the staff they have worked with throughout the transition. Relationships are vital to our kids' success, and we want to ensure that your child and family are as confident as we are in their new schedule and therapy team.
Caregiver Feedback
Thank you for the feedback and questions provided in our first round of Merlin updates. We would like to answer a few questions that were asked in our feedback survey. 

Avondale Transition:
Will my child be able to have similar supports in the new location?
Are the Merlin therapists all coming to Avondale?
How will the transition work between the current Merlin location and Avondale?

We will continue to provide more details as we get closer to our permit and construction approvals in Avondale. We should have an update on timelines by the end of April. When Avondale is ready to open, we will keep the current Merlin program at West Loop and add Merlin Day Academy with both private insurance and ISBE approved programming at Avondale only. We will be opening staff positions at the new Avondale location in May and will share staffing details once they are determined. 

IEP and Private Placement in Merlin Day Academy:
We've never had a CPS placement and need more info in the event insurance refuses payment or Merlin’s payment policy changes.
How does private placement for IEP work? How does that work with private insurance?
What does "private placement in your IEP once our program is ISBE approved" mean?
Are we eligible for the new location if we have an agreement with the district to place our child at Merlin?

We will be hosting an IEP information panel in May. Please keep a look out for this informative session with our IEP experts. We also have our in-house supports such as TaMia West, our Special Education Director, and Dr. Shay McManus to assist your family and child's unique IEP placement needs.

Will there be a school bus service?

School bus services would only be available to those students that are placed into Merlin Day Academy through their IEP and have busing as an IEP support. The bus transportation would be provided by your local school district from your home to Merlin Day Academy. 

Will the academy be more like a public school? Will there be homework and grades for every subject?

Each class and grade will have different expectations, with grades and homework individually assigned to be the just right challenge for your child. 

Next Steps:
When do we need to make a final decision on whether or not to move to the new location?

Space at both locations is limited! We have had an incredible interest in our program since announcing Merlin Day Academy. The sooner you commit to a space in our program, the better. Currently we are enrolling a max of 50 clients for West Loop in the Fall 2021, with only 6 spots remaining! Once Avondale is ready to be open, we will enroll 2 classes of 10 students this year and add classes as enrollment increases each school year.