Class Helps Disabled Students Succeed

Abilities Vocational Instructor Janice Ferro with post office cashier Michael Lynch. Post office hours are: Mondays from 1:15-2 p.m. and Fridays 2-2:30 p.m. The Post office is located outside room 115.

This year, for the first time, the district has entered into a partnership with Nassau Abilities to sponsor a Transition Services Program. This program is dedicated to assisting high school students with disabilities to achieve community integration, independence, participation within the adult world, and productivity in work and other meaningful experiences.

The success of the program is meeting the individual needs of each student so that all students will complete the program with a sense of pride, motivation and increased self-esteem. The district believes that all students should be prepared to think critically and act independently; the Transition Services Program promotes this philosophy.

L to R: Alison Silver, teacher aide Mary Healy, Special Education teacher Mary Ferrara and Eileen Hussey

The High School Career Connections Class is supervised by Career Connection teacher Mary Ferrara and Janice Ferro, a vocational instructor from Abilities. This class is held three days a week for two periods and is an extension of the Special Education Program. In the classroom, the students practice work skills to prepare them to move on to jobs within the school such as the library, office, etc. The objective is to train students within the school environment so that they can move forward to working within the community when they complete high school.

As part of this vocational program, and through the efforts of Abilities, a post office has been established at the high school. The students in the Career Connections class are now official representatives of the U.S. Postal Service. The class will be providing services such as selling stamps, priority mail and packing. There is a spirit of enthusiasm and excitement about the post office. Mrs. Ferrara is also pleased to see the youngsters putting their math concepts to use.

Another program activity is learning skills for interviews. Alison Silver had a long list of questions when she interviewed Interim Assistant Principal Eileen Hussey. This was a rewarding learning experience for Alison.

Psychologist Dr. Darlene McLaughlin, a consultant from the Autism Help Center, is also an important part of this project. Dr. McLaughlin’s specialty is “person-centered planning.” She works with students to find their strengths as well as a way to transition them as independent people into the community. This is a lengthy process which involves the student, high school staff and family. The students participating in the program are John Timmins, Elise Griffith, Michael Lynch and Alison Silver.