Piloted in 2005-2006 and supported by State and Federal mandates, this program provides students with Individual Education Plans, opportunities to develop skills and prepare for the world that awaits them after high school. The activities in this program are specifically addressed in the Transition Plan, a separate document included with the IEP.
During the first year(s) of high school, students are introduced to the Center and do Interest, Skills and Career Inventories which establish their Transition Portfolios. They then engage in Community Based Instruction - CBI via field trips to many diverse job sites for exposure to different work environments. They are encouraged to identify skills needed to perform the specific jobs they are observing on these outings and determine whether they would be interested and/or able to acquire said skills.
In the years to follow, job shadowing experiences are scheduled for individual students, based on their career interests and the results of the inventories, where they follow an employee at their place of work for three hours.
Later, unpaid internships are set-up. These are for several days a week for a few hours each day for a marking period. In this component of the program the interns work with a work site mentor and truly learn and practice actual job skills.
In their final year at Northern, students become employees. They are encouraged to obtain paid employment when possible, some with job coaches for a time, others with work-site mentors, or on their own, depending on the individual’s ability and need. The new employees are observed regularly by the Career Orientation Coordinator and evaluated in collaboration with the employer.
Another component of the program is the Career Orientation Center. It houses a simulated office, hotel room, assembly line and computer lab. The Center also operates a copy and laminating service for teachers located in Room 608. Students run a School Store located in Room 305, a Staff Café in Room 608, an Herb Garden in the east building greenhouse, and a Detail Shop where vehicles are cleaned for a minimal fee. All of these areas are used to teach and hone job skills. Self esteem and pride in the knowledge they can be useful members of society are wonderful additional bonuses.
