Lets Talk About Me

Our "community connections" class is comprised of 12 students with significant cognitive disabilities. These students face multiple obstacles as they attempt to access their communities through getting and keeping a job. The goal of this program is to teach job readiness skills, provide on-the-job training, and to teach "real life" coping skills that will help each student to have a successful adult life integrated within the community setting.

Each student will be taken through the process of applying for and interviewing for jobs. The students will use their new Olympus FE-240 digital cameras and educational packs to create digital job portfolios of their on-the-job training experiences. For students with limited verbal skills, the digital portfolios will be critical to help convey their job strengths. Students will develop skills in word processing, downloading photos, and formatting photos which in itself is an excellent job skill.

In addition, students will use "Tool Factory Home Page" to create their own web page.
1)Students will participate in a "person centered planning" session with family, friends, and support professionals. This meeting will result in a transition plan for the student which includes a plan for employment, transportation planning, assitance with financial management, assistance with living arrangement, and social/recreation needs. The web page will create a vehicle through which all team members can contribute: letters of recommendation for the student, interviews through which the support person can explain the strengths that student would provide to the job environment, and an action plan which all team members will work from.
2)Students and support team members will add photos and job summaries to the web-page for prospective employers. The web-page link will be provided to the prospective employer through a student prepared resume.

The "ESL bundle software" will provide opportunities for students to build and improve literacy skills that will benefit them during job experiences and life after high school.

Through the use of this critical technology, students will create tools that will help them communicate the wonderful skills they would bring to their preferred job environment.