1994–1999: Planting Seeds
OPTIONS Transitions to Independence has sprung to life over a span of nearly thirty years.
Recognizing our population’s need for post-high school training, the Brehm Preparatory School sought to provide support for students who were entering their adult lives. Accordingly, it expanded to include a residential component in 1994, planting the initial seeds of OPTIONS. That same year, an additional administrative building was added to the campus to serve as a nucleus for the post-high school programming. Within five years, the program had developed into its own branch and was formally renamed OPTIONS (Optimizing Potential Through Individualized, Ongoing, Nurtured Successes).
1999–2008: Expanding Outward
Shortly thereafter, OPTIONS moved from the Brehm main campus outward and into the surrounding community, calling downtown Carbondale’s historical Bening Building its home. As the program’s population grew, more space was needed to accommodate student and staff needs. In turn, classrooms were moved into a six-thousand-square-foot building on Lewis Lane in 2004. There, the program operated for sixteen years, with residential life moving into the Aspen Court apartment complex in 2008.
2008–Present: OPTIONS in Bloom
While at Lewis Lane, OPTIONS flourished to reach its full capacity. A giving incentive was established to facilitate the building of its new, and current, location at 900 South Brehm Lane. Here, our students meet for OPTIONS classes, vocational support, speech and language services, and much more.
