This part of the Individualized Transition plan (ITP), focuses on how a student will be prepare for the world of work after graduation. It is difficult for a young teenager to determine what they might like to do for a job or to know what they are good at. This is why early preparation and training is extremely important and beneficial. Job awareness and job exploration needs to take place in elementary and middle school. It is important for this training and preparation to take place at home as well as at school. This can be done with talking to your son/daughter about different types of work people do and how they do it. Talk to them about what they like to do and help them to identify their strengths. So much of knowing what type of work someone might like to do is revealed through self-awareness. Also, it is important to give your son/daughter responsibilities at home such as taking out the trash, setting the table, feeding the family pet, or watering the plants. This gives them a sense of having a, "job." It helps them to understand the value of being a contributing member and is an important step in vocational preparation.

At age fourteen (14), when a student’s initial ITP is written, it is generally focused on the student’s course of study and what classes they will take to achieve their long-range goal. It can include other related activities such as taking some general interest and vocational assessments, job shadowing, and informational interviews. Also students in the Occupational Course of Study will begin their School Based Training.

A vocational assessment is an important tool that helps to identify a student’s strengths, interests, and aptitudes. There are several components to an assessment. The student may first start by taking paper and pencil testing, such as an interest inventory or aptitude tests. Secondly a situational assessment is done. A student is placed in either a simulated or real job site and observed as to their skills, abilities, and behavior. This is generally done prior to a student being placed in a community work site.

As students progress through their second and third year of high school the transition planning should focus on, on-campus and off-campus work experiences, to develop needed vocational skills and behaviors. This also helps students to learn what they enjoy doing and what they do not like. At this time a student also participates in a formal vocational evaluation. This is done at the Division of Services for the Blind, Evaluation Unit. A student will spend two to three days going through a comprehensive vocational evaluation that assesses their interests, aptitudes, personality traits, specific vocational skills, learning style and other areas that would assist the Rehabilitation Counselor and student.

Summer employment is another important part of the vocational development process that should be considered in transition planning. The Governor Morehead Summer Employment Program is one option for obtaining this experience. If a student prefers to work in their own community during the summer, our Rehabilitation Counselor will work with the student’s local Rehabilitation Counselor to identify an appropriate job site.

As a student enters their final year of high school they should have a pretty good idea of what their long-range vocational goal is and the ITP should focus on competitive work experience in this area or in a related field that will enhance needed skills. Students should be also looking at related skills they will need to be successful at a job such as how to identify and use different forms of transportation to get to work, Social Security benefits and how working will affect these benefits, what type of specific accommodations might be needed on the job and knowing how to ask for them and use them and identifying what supports and services they will need in their local community to remain successfully employed.

The following are programs and opportunities offered at the Governor Morehead School to prepare our students for work after graduation.

SCHOOL-BASED TRAINING
This is a requirement of students in the Occupational Course of Study. These students must obtain 300 hours of school-based training and these work activities are assigned to students on campus which simulate work tasks performed for pay in the community. The focus is on training with specific teaching objectives targeting deficient work skills or social behaviors. Students are scheduled for SBT on a regular basis, during and/or after school.

COMMUNITY-BASED TRAINING
This is also a requirement of the Occupational Course of Study. Students must obtain 240 hours of work experience that must take place in the community. These work activities are begun after a student has completed their School-Based Training and are related to teaching objectives that build upon what was learned in SBT. This training provides students an opportunity for job exploration and to develop more complex job skills.

ON AND OFF CAMPUS PAID WORK OPPORTUNITIES
The final requirement for students in the Occupational Course of Study is 360 hours of competitive paid employment. This work experience must take place in an integrated setting, which means our students have to work along side folks who are doing a full-time job and earning a paycheck. This job placement is typically related to a student’s long range vocational goal, so when it is time for graduation they have actual work experience in a chosen field.

Many of our students who are not in the Occupational Course of Study also are encouraged to obtain work experience. Our Rehabilitation Counselor works with students to identify their interests and aptitudes. Then an appropriate job match is made based on this information. If a student needs close supervision or job coaching at their work site, then either our Rehabilitation Counselor, Community Employment Specialist, or another member of our Transition Team provides this training.

Students have been placed in a variety of jobs on our campus including: Dining Hall- busing tables and washing pots and pans, Maintenance - cleaning school buildings and lawn maintenance, Mail Center, - mail delivery, school building - stocking school supplies and copying print materials, administration - clerical duties and answering the phone, school newspaper - Junior Student Publisher, transportation - assisting with handling of student luggage as students arrive back on campus each week.

Many of our students have been placed in jobs in the local community. Often after they have worked at a job on campus a student will progress to a work site in the community. We are very grateful to the many businesses and organizations who have provided work opportunities for our students.

VOCATIONAL CENTER
The Governor Morehead School‘s Vocational Center was established as an after school program to provide students an opportunity for vocational assessment and exploration. The center is set up as an actual work environment. As students enter the center they must punch the time on their time card and pick up their assignments for that day. There are four main areas in the center; Processing and Production, Consumer Science, Business and Marketing, and Industrial and Technology. Each of these areas has approximately fifty different job tasks or job samples. Students are given the opportunity to work in the areas they find most interesting. Their job tasks begin on a simple level and progress to a more challenging level. Students are encouraged to be as independent as they can be and to learn more about themselves and the type of work they would be successful at and enjoy doing.

For further information about our Vocational Center, contact Mary Flanagan at e-mail Mary.Flanagan@dhhs.nc.gov

WORK CENTER
GMS Work center has a unique strategy in providing students real life working experiences while offering organizations free services. Students have learned to collate, assemble, package, and label items for private and public institutions such as Raleigh Recycling Dept., Dept. of Public Instruction, Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and the Association Executives of N.C.

Because of the various size projects that sometimes require large boxes for packaging, the classroom located in the Crockett-Peeler building is set up to accommodate students and teachers, and is desirable when dropping off and picking up projects. Students look forward to working on different projects and are very enthusiastic workers.

The Work center has collated, stuffed and sealed over 3,000 AENC invitations in preparation for the Dec. 2001, 2002 trade show. Payment is not accepted for these projects, but donations are accepted for our Work Center Variety Store. This is a store stocked with personal care items, cassette tapes, batteries, sugarless gum, and other small tokens that are kept on hand for the students as a reward for personal accomplishments. Or, a class party can be held for the students. Keep us in mind for future projects that may come about.

You may contact us:

Lisa Basnight
305 Ashe Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27606
Lisa Basnight@dhhs.nc.gov

The Rehabilitation Counselor works with students to help them recognize personal strengths and interests, explore career options, and implement strategies for reaching their goals. The Rehabilitation Counselor sometimes arranges financial support for post secondary education. At other times, he/she lays the ground work for employment immediately following graduation.

For further information about DSB Cooperative Agreements go to: (DSB website link).

The Community Employment Specialist builds relationships with members of the business community in order to provide students with opportunities to gain work experience and develop work skills and attitudes that will make them better employees in the future.

The Rehab Counselor and the Community Employment Specialist both work cooperatively with teachers, as members of the Transition Team, and as participants in the Individualized Transition Plan, to insure that all teachers, specialists, and administrators understand and support the students' long term educational goal.