Year-End Wrap-Up: What a Year to Be Connected

Three campuses. One community. The 2025–2026 school year brought unprecedented growth and connection across all of our programs.

Every school year brings its own moments of pride. But 2025–2026 was something special across all three of our programs. Students thrived, staff showed up with incredible dedication, and our community kept growing, in every sense of the word. Here's a look back at everything worth celebrating.

Connect Academy: One School, One Culture
This school year marked a major milestone for Connect Academy Carol Stream. The team accomplished something that takes real vision and heart: successfully consolidating three separate campuses into one unified location, all while continuing to grow their student population and staff.

Bringing together students and employees from three different campuses required thoughtful planning, flexibility, and a deep commitment to relationships. The result? A Carol Stream campus that nearly tripled in size and a school community that came out the other side more connected than ever.

3

campuses brought together into one

3x

growth in campus size from previous year

1

unified school culture built together

​Even amid significant growth, the team never lost focus on what matters most: supporting students with complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs, deepening family engagement, and building a staff culture that models connection every single day.

This year was about so much more than growth. We brought together students, families, and staff from three different campuses and built one school community. What makes me most proud is that despite all of the change, our team never lost sight of what matters most: creating a place where students feel safe, supported, and genuinely connected. The culture our staff built this year has been incredible to watch.

- Mollie Marshall
​Site Administrator, Connect Academy

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Connect Academy High School: An Inaugural Year That Delivered

Launching a brand-new high school is no small feat. Connect Academy High School did it and did it well. Under the leadership of Dr. Jan Donovan, the inaugural year was a genuine success by every measure that matters: students earned credit, attendance climbed, and several students made successful transitions back to their home districts.

16

students enrolled for at least one full semester

98.5%

of courses passed for credit in second semester

80%+

average attendance with many students above 90%

Of those 16 students, three reintegrated full-time to their home district, one returned part-time, and one graduated. Those outcomes represent exactly what Connect Academy High School was built to do and they showed up in year one.
The momentum heading into year two is already building. Referrals are coming in for the fall, and the school may soon be adding a third teacher to the team. If year one is any indication, Connect Academy High School is just getting started.

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Pathways Academy: A First Year That Opened Doors and Hearts

​Pathways Academy opened in August 2025 with 10 students and two classrooms, and it hit the ground running. By January, demand was strong enough to open a third classroom. By the end of the year, 20 students were being served, double the opening enrollment.

10

students welcomed on opening day

20

students served by year's end
​

3

students reintegrated to their home school

But the number that says the most about Pathways Academy's first year? Three. Three students successfully reintegrated back to their home schools and all three are thriving. Reintegration is at the heart of Pathways Academy's mission, and it happened in year one.

None of this is possible without the right people in the right places. Pathways Academy's staff brings deep belief in every student through the door each day, and the parents and partner districts who trusted Pathways Academy as the bridge their students needed made that reintegration possible. That trust was absolutely earned.

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ReConnect Academy: A Brand-New Program Opening Fall 2026
We are also thrilled to introduce ReConnect Academy opening in August 2026 for students in grades 9–12. ReConnect Academy is designed for students who are ready to reconnect with learning, rebuild confidence, and take meaningful steps toward their future. Students attend structured morning or afternoon sessions, work toward graduation requirements, and develop an individualized career plan that connects their daily effort to a clear vision for what comes next. It's a smaller, more personalized environment where students are truly known and truly supported.

ReConnect Academy Parent Open House: July 28, 2026: Join us at 505 E. North Avenue, Carol Stream to tour the space, meet our team, and learn more about the program firsthand.

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Enroll Now for 2026–2027: Let's Build Something Great Together
The 2025–2026 school year showed us what's possible when the right environment meets the right support. As we look ahead to 2026–2027, all four of our programs: Connect Academy, Connect Academy High School, Pathways Academy, and ReConnect Academy are ready to welcome students who need a place where they can truly thrive.

Don't wait  spots across all of our programs fill quickly, and now is the time to start the conversation about 2026–2027 enrollment.

Visit our enrollment page or reach out directly to get started.
We'd love to connect.

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