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Atlantic County Special Services School District
(Mays Landing, New Jersey)
Summary: Overview of the Strategy
Atlantic County Special Services School District (ACSSSD) in Mays Landing,
New Jersey, is a non-graded, receiving district for students with severe
disabilities including students with:
- Developmental disabilities and significant developmental delays
- Multiple, severe disabilities (2 or more disabilities)
- Multiply disabled at-risk: high absenteeism, negative attitude toward
and experiences with school, severe learning disabilities, with a need
for hands-on learning
As a receiving district, ACSSSD admits students from 30 different school
districts throughout the county. We have three campuses for students with
many different disabilities. Some of the districts referring students also
pay on a tuition basis for a student to attend ACSSSD. One of the outstanding
programs offered at ACSSSD is the School-to-Careers Program. This program
provides education to high school students (aged 14-21). The program is
designed to facilitate successful transition from school to adulthood. The
program includes three all three school-to-work components: school-based
activities, work-based activities, and connecting community activities.
School-based Activities
School-based learning is the first step in the student's preparation
for entry into the labor market and adult living. All students aged 14 and
over participate in the ATTAIN (Advocating the Teaching of Transition According
to Individual Needs) program which includes both transitional academics
and career classes. A Transition Curriculum and IEP Data Base was developed
by the district which emphasizes three components: Life Skills, Personal/Social
Development, and Career Education. The curriculum emphasizes cross content
workplace readiness standards and the development of self-esteem. Academic
classes focus on practical units of study such as the development of social
skills, interpersonal skills, preparing for a job, and communication skills.
Students choose career classes related to their interests such as Food Service,
Manufacturing, Building Trades, Business and Clerical, and Grounds Maintenance.
The primary emphasis of these career education classes is to provide students
with work experiences in realistic settings and to help students develop
good work behaviors and attitudes. Students participate in learning that
is relevant to their interests and abilities and become more self-confident
as they succeed in these classes and understand that their goals are attainable.
The school-based component also provides many students with their first
paid work experience through the school work-study program. For example,
students in the Food Service class work in the school cafeteria preparing
and serving lunches daily, and operate the Snack Shack, a snack bar open
to students and staff.
Work-based Activities
After initial preparation in the school-based program, students have
an opportunity to progress into the work-based component for structured
learning experiences in the community. In partnership with local businesses
and Atlantic County Government, ACSSSD operates work sites in the community
that are actually "classrooms without walls". A full time teacher
is placed at each site to provide support to students and the work site
mentor. Students work at Meadowview Nursing Home, Shore Memorial Hospital,
and Atlantic Cape Community College during the first level of community
experience, with intense supervision by the teacher and employee mentors.
The mentors teach work skills as well as industry culture and norms. As
students become more independent and confident and develop good skills and
work habits, they advance to the next level of training which occurs at
three different casino/hotel properties in Atlantic City, as well as at
other smaller businesses. Students work every day and learn job specific
skills, work habits, and social skills that are necessary for success in
entry level positions in business and industry.
Students are either hired into permanent positions after they participate
in training at the worksites or find employment elsewhere with the help
of the teacher and service agencies that work with the school as an Interagency
Transition Council. ACSSSD has a partnership with two post-secondary institutions:
Atlantic County Vocational Technical School and Atlantic Cape Community
College for students who wish to pursue further education on this level.
Based on each student's Individual Education Plan and Transition Plan, individual
goals, objectives, and strategies for meeting transition needs in the areas
of employment/community participation, post-secondary education, adult living,
transportation/mobility, leisure activities and adult services are developed
and organized.
The Need
When the School to Careers (STC) program was initiated, the goal was
to meet student needs by developing local partnerships among high schools,
community service providers, and industry to implement a strong School-To-Careers
program and adult life curriculum for youth with disabilities. In 1992,
the New Jersey Department of Education reported that 21% of all youth with
disabilities dropped out of school prior to obtaining a high school diploma.
The Atlantic County Office of the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
reported that a majority of clients eligible for their Education Project
were classified as eligible for special education services prior to dropping
out of school. These and other findings indicated that there was a need
to develop systemic change in educational programming to prevent disabled
and at-risk students from dropping out of school.
This system was designed to assist any student with developmental or
multiple disabilities, including students with educational disabilities
who are at risk of dropping out of school. In this 1998-99 school year,
130 students (100% of the students aged 14-21) at the Mays Landing campus
of ACSSSD participate in the program; 86 in school-based learning and 44
in work-based learning. This includes 58 females, 72 males, 7l white students,
40 African American, 17 Hispanic, and 2 Asian students.
In the past two years, ACSSSD has also been instrumental in facilitating
the participation and replication of our School-to-Career initiative in
comprehensive high schools throughout the county.
Meeting the Need
This system began in 1992, with just one community-based work site, developed
in agreement with Atlantic County Government. Since that time, the district
has worked with the local Workforce Investment Board (WIB) to develop additional
partnerships. Some partnerships include the Atlantic-Cape May Private Industry
Council, Local 54 (hotel and restaurant employees union), Caesar's Atlantic
City, Tropicana Casino and Resort, Harrah's Atlantic City, Shore Memorial
Hospital, Atlantic Cape Community College and Richard Stockton College of
New Jersey, several small businesses, the Division of Rehabilitation Services,
the Interagency Transition Council, and local high school districts. A county
Interagency Council was established within the district to assist students
with disabilities in meeting their transition goals.
The Private Industry Council has provided partial funding for ACSSSD
student training wages for the past several years. The remainder of the
training wage has been paid by business partners. Caesar's Atlantic City
provides the entire student training wage for the students at that site,
as does one of the colleges in the partnership and most of the independent
work sites. Funding to support and implement the program was obtained from
the Department of Education (New Jersey Office of School to Careers and
College Initiatives) in the form of multi-year grants. Local district funds
are also used to finance this system.
The Results
Students who have participated in the School-to-Careers program are better
prepared for employment, and often have permanent positions upon graduation
(about 70%). Students who do not have jobs at the time of graduation have
a transition plan in progress with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Services toward employment goals. As students have participated in the community-based
component of the program during the past several years, there has been an
improvement in attendance and meeting state standards. Students have learned
what is expected of employees in various industries and positions and have
met those expectations. Students have more self-confidence, higher self-esteem,
and better communication and interpersonal skills.
Public awareness of the potential of individuals with disabilities to
function successfully in society continues to increase as students work
at the community-based sites. Follow-up studies with graduates address post-school
activity related to employment, residential living, transportation, and
leisure activities. If necessary, former students are reconnected with adult
service providers for assistance with finding a job or other related services.
The district is responsible for submitting the New Jersey STC Performance
Measures and Standards matrix, verifying the status of full implementation
of all the required components of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act for
all learners.
Reflections on Our Strategy
There is very little that the district would change because this system
has been so successful for students and embraced by businesses, parents,
and other community partners. Additional community-based classrooms might
have been developed more quickly for more students if it was apparent then
that structured learning experiences for students would have been so successful.
Currently, the program has many opportunities for work-based learning. Area
businesses and the casino partners have been very supportive of this program.
One unexpected outcome was the high interest in our model by comprehensive
schools within our county. Within our School-to-Careers initiative statewide,
there is a grant award process to receive funding to support development
and implementation of School-to-Careers systems locally. During the first
year there were 50-60 applicants and the focus was first and foremost on
general education initiatives, with special education coming in second.
We decided that we wanted to share information about what we had learned
and the model we had developed with other schools throughout the county.
In the second year, we applied for and received a $70,000 grant to implement
a Summer Institute for staff from comprehensive high schools in our county
to learn about and consider replicating our model at ACSSSD. We trained
staff in the following areas: What is School-to-Careers? How did we develop
our system at ACSSSD? How could they develop a similar plan to replicate
what we had done?
We took them through the entire process and helped them to develop strategic
plans to implement this in their own schools. Plans included addressing
questions such as how to get the school district on board, how to institutionalize
and own the School-to-Careers concepts, and how to develop community partnerships.
We eventually did another grant and round of training for these schools
regarding how to write their own grants. The schools that have been trained
have embraced our model enthusiastically and have seen the potential for
using our activities and ideas to help ALL learners benefit and plan for
successful futures. It has been a win/win situation for everyone and our
collaboration with other high schools outside of ACSSSD has been extremely
gratifying.
Our State Department as well as the Commissioner of Education also came
to ACSSSD to tour and observe our system of School-to-Careers in action.
We have received tremendous, very positive feedback as to ACSSSD being a
model for School-to-Careers for all learners, not just those with disabilities.
Examples of Learners
Example 1
Kelly is a 21 year old student with significant developmental disabilities,
who will be graduating in June 1999. Her school-based program included transitional
academics and experience in the school-operated public restaurant. This
helped prepare her for a community work based program in a hospital kitchen/dining
area. Kelly worked at the hospital 3 days per week for about 2 years. At
the second level of community-based experience, she worked at one of the
casino properties in housekeeping. She decided it was not the work environment
that best fit her skills and interests. An individual placement was found
at an area restaurant in which she works as a food portioner in the kitchen.
She works under the supervision of an employee mentor and is visited regularly
by her teacher. She will be hired by the restaurant upon graduation and
is already coordinating transportation, supported employment follow-along
services, and social security issues.
Example 2
Danny is a student who has participated in the School-to-Careers program
for the last three years, coming from a self-contained classroom for students
with behavioral or emotional challenges. He worked at the community college
under close supervision from his teacher and mentor during a summer JTPA
program. His attitude, attendance and social interactions improved significantly
and he was given the opportunity to gain work experience at one of the casino
properties. He began as a Wardrobe Clerk and within months was training
in the Teen Center, the employee store, and the gift shop. He was hired
in May 1998 as a full time employee. He has spoken to other students about
his experiences, acting as a role model for his peers.
Example 3
Niemma, a 19 year old student with multiple disabilities who will graduate
in 2000, had expressed great interest in working in an office environment.
Through the community-based program, she was able to explore and experience
this type of work. She worked in the mailroom at a local college, performing
various clerical tasks, and then worked in the personnel office at one of
the casino properties. She was able to experience all aspects of the industry
and decided to change departments to work in a different occupational area.
She was able to determine for herself with actual experience outside the
school classroom, what kind of work environment best fit her skills and
interests.
Recruiting
ACSSSD has taken a leadership role in facilitating systemic change within
the county. The district is part of the Atlantic County STC Consortium,
where districts are collaborating in program planning and sharing resources
to develop and implement programs for all students. ACSSSD is marketing
the district's Transition Curriculum and best practices in transition planning
via a video tape production.
For more information on the Atlantic County Special Services School
District, contact:
Russell V. Grecco, Principal
Atlantic County Special Services School District
450 -19th Street
Mays Landing, NJ 08330
(Phone) 609/625-5663
(Fax) 609/625-6453
(E-mail) RussellGrecco@po.altnet.org
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