Brehm Preparatory Academy celebrates 40 years of educating Carbondale community

Brehm Preparatory school celebrated its 40 year anniversary on Oct. 22 at the Brehm Preparatory gym.  The school hosted a gala and then followed it with a fireworks display.

Jeremy Robbins, the head of Brehm Preparatory, said before working for Brehm he worked in New York City at a similar program. 

“Brehm is a unique program, and [an] opportunity to work with students with learning differences and disabilities is a real passion of mine,” Robbins said. “The idea of it being a family-style school, in the Midwest, a small college town like Carbondale, is exciting.”

He said what drew him to move from New York to Illinois was Brehm’s more community-based method, which was almost like family. 

Robbins said the big difference between Brehm and public schools is, not only that Brehm specializes in helping students with learning disabilities, but it adjusts how teachers approach lessons based on what the student needs.

“We do have smaller class sizes, generally, we say a one to six ratio. So the small class sizes, teachers and staff are really oriented towards understanding how a student learns. You, oftentimes, have students with complex learning profiles and […] staff are really in tune with customs and adapt the teaching and learning to modify [with what the] students […] need, he said.

Brehm Preparatory offers two programs for students. The regular class grade ranges from sixth to twelfth grade. The Options Program is for post-secondary students who are looking to go on to higher education whether it be a four-year college or trade school.

Anne Westberry, the foundation director, said Brehm Preparatory was founded to help students with learning disabilities get the help that might not be able to get at another school.

“Every single teacher here is certified to teach within a learning difference. So for a learning difference, you would say dyslexia, autism, ADD, and ADHD. […] The schools around us are absolutely wonderful. […] There’s a specialization of a learning difference, even though we call them gifts here. It’s extremely needed because it’s hard [for parents],  Westberry said.

It is a constant struggle for parents who are trying to find a school with a program or programs that are able to provide help for students who have learning disabilities, she said.

The anniversary gala started off with a silent auction. Alums, teachers, students and others mingled and caught up before the night’s festivities started.

Ellen Cotteleer-Feit, a parent of a student in the Options Program, said a majority of the time, when kids who have learning disabilities go to public school, they are not given the help they need.

“I think a lot of kids without these schools get cheated. There’s a lot of times, through public school systems, they just get shoved through the system and they may not get, necessarily, the services they need to really help them develop their full potential who they are,” Cotteleer-Feit said.

She said her daughter started going to Brehm about four years ago and the school has helped her a lot with social skills.

Jaiveer Singh, an alum of Brehm Preparatory and a third-year student at Southern Illinois University (SIU), said Brehm not only helped him get the education he could not receive in India, but also taught him how to become more independent and take care of himself.

After the auction, Robbins gave a short welcome speech, thanking people for coming out to the gala. He then introduced Laneal Nance, the marketing coordinator, who announced the start of the student fashion show.

During the fashion show, students came out wearing fall-inspired outfits which ranged from flannels to dresses. 

Stacy Brehm-Tate, the daughter of Carol Brehm, who founded the school, dressed up as Glinda the Good Witch and Terry Wilson, the director of human resources, announced there was going to be another fashion show and a live auction to follow. 

For the second fashion show the same students participated in it, but this time the attire was school-dance themed. The boys had on different suits and the girls wore various styles of dresses.

Wilson said Brehm makes an effort to not just reach out to kids in Carbondale, but to other countries as well. He said the admissions team goes to a variety of conferences to talk to parents and tell them why Brehm is the best option for their kids.

The live auction began after the show. Some of the items up for bid were paintings done by students and a chance to be in charge of the school for a day. The bids for the items ranged from $400 to $1,400. In between the auction, slide shows were shown of Brehm throughout the years. 

Andrew Waugh, the alumni relations coordinator, said Brehm continues to help students even after they graduate from the school.

“It’s impressive to see how much the school has grown in just the different aspects of wanting to get kids to be successful. Because we don’t just push college down kids’ throats we kind of want to build on their strengths,” he said. “We take them to trade schools, we show them different aspects of the world so they know what they can do after high school.”

Kerri Campbell, the executive assistant, said there are a lot of people who have contributed to Brehm’s success over the past 40 years.

“The teachers are phenomenal. Every single one of them is just amazing. They’re our foundation for sure. […] Our staff, our teachers, [are] our foundation,” Campbell said.

To end off the night a fireworks show was put on at the lake behind Brehm Preparatory.

“It’s to me, it’s an honor to be the steward of our programs here on campus at a time where we’re celebrating the 40 years of our history, and also looking ahead to where Brehm will be in the next 10 years and ultimately, what the next 40 will look,” Robbins said.

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @DEJaniyah. To stay up to date with all your Southern Illinois News follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter. 

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