The community-based program is designed to give students an opportunity to experience working in the community in conjunction with learning academic skills. Students selected for the program have a supportive or competitive employment goal in their Transition Plan within their IEP.  Recommendations from the case managers and teachers are necessary along with assessment data on the student’s vocational job performance, personal/social behavior skills and their levels of independence in the community.  Commonly referred to as “classrooms without walls”, students work side by side with community mentors performing basic entry job skills.  In this setting, students learn basic work ethic skills, personal/social skills, effective communication skills, and functional math and reading skills. These students are between the ages of 18-21, have met their graduation requirements, and need more support in a work-place setting to be successful.  A certified teacher and aide are on site to add the extra support necessary for success. The students are at their workplace setting every day, all day and are transported by their district’s transportation so they do not enter our school building…hence the “classroom without walls”. Community based sites include Congress Hall, Atlantic Cape Community College, Cape May Technical High School, Acme, ShopRite, and others.

 

After success in these supportive sites, students then have an opportunity to be placed in an independent work site.  In these sites, students work side by side with a community mentor and are supported by the Work-Based Learning teachers who visit once a day to assist and assess the students’ success.  Independent work sites are based on the students’ needs, interests and proximity to their home.  These independent work sites are usually considered prior to Graduation and in congruence with the student’s transition plan.