Midland Park
June 6, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7
A three-year program at Midland Park High School gives students a leg up on getting a job. The communitybased instruction program, known as CBI, is a self-contained special education program that helps students make the transition from high school into the real world by providing direct, repetitive and sustained instruction in daily living, social and vocational skills. Headed from its inception by veteran teacher Therese Seiders, the leadership is now shared with Rosemary Ferullo, with the assistance of Denise Connelly. Four students, all now over age 16, are currently involved in supported employment. In the initial stages, the students gain life relevance skills in the classroom through the academic areas: reading recipes or preparing grocery lists in language arts class; budgeting in math class; citizenship in history class; an appreciation for and how to care for the environment in science class. An integral part of the program is to expose students to experiences both inside and outside the school that support independence and lead to direct and sustained job oppor-
CBI helps students transition into world of work
tunities through supportive employment. Because the community outside the classroom is unpredictable, it provides valuable on-the-spot circumstances the student must manage – and their teachers or job coaches are right beside them to help them navigate through the tough spots. Job awareness and job sampling activities built into the curriculum help the students, as well as the instructors, get a handle on their individual strengths and interests. These have included such in-school tasks as operating the copy machine, sorting mail or using the paper shredder in the school office, to being responsible for printing and posting the daily lunch menu for the school’s food service, to helping other students at the elementary schools. Outside the school, the students have assisted the town’s recreation department with the Halloween Parade and tree lighting and helped fill orders for a company in Montvale. The most enjoyable for the students, Seiders said, is helping out at the Children’s Therapy Center across the street from the high school. “There they have made friends and can see how they can make a difference in someone else’s life,” she said.
CBI’s third year presented somewhat of a challenge for the organizers, Seiders said, because the supported employment component is practically a full-time job in itself. “This most crucial piece is also the most complicated. There are state guidelines. There is specialized training. Community contacts need to be established. Job coaches have to be hired, and transportation needs to be organized,” Seiders explained. The district has teamed up with an outside agency, Educational Enterprises, whose staff meets with the students, places them in an appropriate work setting, and provides job coaches. “It’s a wonderful program. It’s very exciting to see the CBI program move forward into this stage of job experience. It has gotten off to a great start,” Seiders concluded. Based on the clips from some of the students Seiders presented at the end of her presentation, the participants are just as excited. “I get to deal with people…;” I like my job…;” “It’s beneficial to my future…,” they commented.