At Distinctive Schools, we know that true student growth—the kind that shapes lifelong learners and successful citizens—spans beyond academics. It is critical that our students are mentally and emotionally present so they can engage fully in the classroom. This core belief has led us to an exciting, innovative partnership that elevates our commitment to student well-being: the launch of a satellite mental health clinic at CICS Longwood High School, in collaboration with Chicago Integrated Health (CIH). This partnership is a direct reflection of our Community Hub model, leveraging the trust and safety of our school buildings to connect families with vital outside resources.
The connection began over the summer when Dr. Jeralyn Harris, CICS Longwood High School Principal connected with Iris Patterson, CIH Founder and CEO, and Dr. Shaniqua Jones CIH Director of Clinical Education. Their conversation quickly moved into a collaborative effort to bring CIH's high-quality mental health services directly to our students. The effort culminated in establishing a dedicated, mini-clinic space on the fourth floor of LWHS, which opened this October.
CICS Longwood High School is CIH’s very first on-site satellite clinic at a school. While CIH operates a full clinic in Matteson and offers robust telehealth services, this dedicated space on our campus is pioneering because it immediately removes barriers of travel, cost, and scheduling that often prevent our students from accessing the care they need. To ensure no interruption of services provided, CIH has made additional commitments to accessibility for our CICS Longwood High School community:
This model was designed to accept almost all health insurance plans, including Medicaid, and currently accept BCBSIL PPO, Aetna PPO, United Healthcare PPO, County Care, Meridian, YouthCare, and Blue Cross Community.
Telemedicine services are available when the school is closed for summer and holiday breaks.
Students also have the option to visit CIH’s Matteson office, where they provide additional services like trauma-informed yoga, fitness, and more.
For high schoolers, "calm corners" aren’t enough; it’s about giving older students the tools to apply social-emotional skills to the real-life struggles they encounter daily.
The clinic currently accepts referrals for:
Individual Therapy: The primary service offered.
Group and Family Therapy: Expanding support to caregivers and peer groups.
Trauma Therapy: Specialized care for students, caregivers, and staff.
Students under 18 must have parental consent to participate. This means that the care provided is intentional, safe, and aligned with family values. To show our appreciation for our dedicated educators, CIH also provides the unique benefit of a massage therapist on select days for staff—a recognition of the emotional weight carried by our leaders and teachers.
As Michele Lansing, Distinctive Schools Director of Clinical Services put it, "If students are in their head about something else, then they can't be in their seat learning—so let's give them space to do both in school." By providing these trauma-informed, high-quality services on-site, we are sending a powerful message to our community: Your mental health is a part of your educational success. We are leveraging the school as a place of safety and trust, ensuring that when students are "not there mentally," they have an immediate, accessible resource to become present, engaged, and ready to learn.
We are excited to see the impact this partnership will have at CICS Longwood High School, and are proud to take this significant step in providing holistic support to our students and staff.
For more information and to enroll, click here!