Life Behind the Yellow Door
The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School (O-School) is proud of its strong academic programming, therapeutic atmosphere, and history of proven success. For more than a century, the O-School has provided a culture of support and a safe haven and a path to hope for students with mental health challenges or who are on the autistic spectrum, or both.
In 2014, the O-School opened a state-of-the-art campus two blocks from the University of Chicago campus and one block from Chicago’s famous elevated trains.
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For additional information about joining the O-School team, please email us at employment@lsscschools.
Culture and Environment
Whether you have just joined our staff or have been at the O-School for years, we are confident that you will find our school to be a child-centered, extensively rewarding place to work. We highly value our talented staff of educators, clinicians and counselors who work together to achieve a singular academic and therapeutic experience for the students in our care.
O-School educators and therapeutic experts benefit from extensive leadership and skills development opportunities including:
- Collaborative group learning – project based
- Real-world, 21st century skill development
- Communications
- Problem-solving
- Conflict resolution
- Teamwork
- Planning
- Project facilitating
- Mentoring
- Thought leadership
- Concept and idea development
- Modern facilities
O-School facilities are the foundation that supports the learning that takes place every day. The campus-style facility features modern learning environments designed to facilitate engagement and encourage creativity and collaboration with a supportive, home-like feel.
Educators have access to modern classrooms, equipped with tools for the 21st-century learner, such as digital instructive technologies and software including:
- Smartboards in every classroom
- 1-to-1 laptops in the classroom
- 1-to-1 MacBook Air with Adobe software in art classes
- 1-to-1 iPads
- Abelton music composition software
- Multi-purpose science lab equipped to support different disciplines (biology, chemistry, physics and more)
- Modern art room designed to support a wide range of artistic disciplines including digital, paint and sculpting
- Full gymnasium and exercise center with fitness equipment
- O-School Benefits Tab
The O-School offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package for all full- and part-time (20 hours or more) employees that includes the following:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield medical insurance (PPO and HMO options)
- MetLife dental (PPO) and VSP vision insurance
- Paid vacation, personal days, sick days and holidays
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance (paid by O-School)
- Basic life insurance and accidental death and disability (paid by O-School)
- Voluntary accidental death and disability insurance and term life insurance
- Employee assistance program, legal assistance, and identity theft program
- 403(b) retirement savings plan
- Flexible spending account and dependent care
- Generous tuition assistance
- Free meals and healthy snacks
- Financial wellness support
- Physical wellness support
- Academic program benefits
- Low caseloads and small instructional classes
- Opportunity to institute a dynamic and ambitious curriculum that is exciting to teach and prepares students for secondary and post-secondary education
- Strong integration between educational and clinical growth
- Collaboration with clinicians, therapists and leaders in the field
- Supportive and talented colleagues
- Small and supportive team
- leadership opportunities
- Intensive clinical opportunities
- Long-term client relationships
- Clinical supervision hours for licensure (i.e., LCSW, LCPC, PsyD.)
- Opportunities to develop and lead programs
- Flexible hours
