PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Students with intellectual disabilities are getting prepared for life after high school, thanks to a special program at the School District of Philadelphia.
Since 2016, the district has offered Project SEARCH, a school-to-work program that prepares young adults for jobs when they turn 21 years old and "age out" of the school system.
"Once they are in the ninth grade, high school, we begin to look at a transitional plan," Sonya Berry, the district's deputy chief of the Office of Specialized Services, told KYW Newsradio.
Project SEARCH, an international program with hundreds of locations, teaches job skills and prepares students for life after their school careers. Abena Osei, the district's special education director, said students report to school headquarters where a simulated workplace is set up.
"It's almost like a practice for your first year right out of high school, so you are in a working environment," she said.
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Even the words used in the program are chosen to resemble a workplace. "We don't say 'schedule,' we say 'agenda.' We do not refer to them as students. They are 'interns.' So even the language that we had to use is to completely make it seem like it is completely in a work setting," said instructor Cynthia Santiago.
Intern Tylik Caldwell, 21, is learning about email and Google Docs at Project Search. "After this year’s over, I just want to get a job," he said. "I like to prep food." He already has a head start, with a job preparing potatoes at the Stockyard restaurant near school headquarters.
Intern Sarah McStay, 19, enjoys the simulated work environment. "First we do Google Docs and then we do typing. We do paperwork," she said. "They teach me how to do cooking, cleaning, office jobs."
Diamond Cheaton, 21, graduated from the program and was hired to do office tasks for the district. "I go to work and I scan papers and then look back on the papers to see if they were straight," she told KYW Newsradio. "I do scanning, shredding, doing files. It's a very fun job. It keeps me occupied.”
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Graduates are already working in jobs at the airport, at hospitals and on college campuses, said Charlotte Brickhouse, executive director of instructional programming and services with the Office of Specialized Services.
"These children show up. They're joyful. They're excited to be there. They're always on time. We love seeing them. And we want others in the community to know that they are available, and they are capable and willing to work," Brickhouse said.
"As we are preparing our students to be independent in the communities, we make sure that we get out there and talk to local businesses so that they know that there is a huge untapped market of talent."
The program currently accommodates only a few dozen Philadelphia students but administrators said with more resources, it could be expanded.
"I see them grow, coming in as high school students and they walk out of here as young adults ready to go into the workforce," Santiago said.
Learn about more programs for Philly kids on the Jawncast.