US Department of Labor poster highlighting National Disability Employment Awareness Month
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time each year to celebrate the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a diverse workforce inclusive of their skills and talents.
Students with disabilities in Questar III special education programs often have the opportunity to participate in various work-based learning (WBL) experiences to help prepare them for the workplace after they graduate. In 2013, the New York State Department of Education acknowledged the importance of these experiences by creating the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) credential in place of a Regents diploma for students with disabilities. The CDOS credential recognizes a students’ preparation and skills for post-school employment.
As part of NDEAM, we’d like to highlight some of our students who participated in WBL during their time in our programs and have found great success and achievement since graduating.
Kelsi Boehlke- Catskill CSD
Kelsi graduated in 2016 and attended both Catskill Academy and Columbia-Greene Educational Center (CGEC). At CGEC, she completed the Introduction to Food Services program during the 2014-2015 school year.
During her time with Questar III, she volunteered at the Matthew 25 Food Pantry sorting products and assisting the pantry director with various tasks; prepared food and beverages for staff and students in the Café at CGEC; helped build the vertical garden at Catskill Academy and planted flowers outside the school; and volunteered at Petit Productions helping teach dance lessons to elementary-age students.
Kelsi learned a variety of employment skills though her WBL experiences. With Petit Productions, she gained experience in directing small children with the various dance routines. At Matthew 25, she gained the confidence to be a self-starter. She did not need the supervisor to prompt her on the next task. She was able to see for herself what needed to be done that day and initiated the work herself. At the Café at CGEC, she learned to bake and prepare a number of foods and beverages. With the vertical garden at Catskill Academy, she gained experience of working as a team to create the structure. She worked with her teacher and classmates to decide what vegetables would be planted in the garden.
Kelsi currently works at Dollar Tree part-time as a cashier and stocking and labeling merchandise. Her WBL experience helped her learn to be part of a time, to listen to supervisors and teachers, to follow instructions, to follow through with tasks and problem solve.
Austin Murray- Taconic Hills CSD
Austin attended Catskill Academy and graduated in 2015. He currently works at D & E Auto Repair as a part time auto mechanic and is receiving on-the-job training.
At Catskill Academy, Austin participated in the vertical garden class project. He also served as a volunteer firefighter for the Mellenville Volunteer Fire Company, responding to fires, cleaning the firetrucks and firehouse, inspecting equipment and participating in fundraising events.
He says his participation in work-based learning helped him learn to be responsible.
“Between volunteering at the Fire House and working on the vertical garden in Mrs. Braley’s class, I learned a lot about being responsible. I learned to set goals and meet those goals. In the fire house, I learned about mechanics of the trucks and other equipment. That has helped me in my current job. I also had a job at Shop Rite, and there I learned about customer service. I’m really glad that I had the experiences at Catskill Academy and Mellenville Fire Department as they helped me to be a better employee.”
Nancy Braley, Austin’s teacher at Catskill Academy says he played a big role in the vertical garden, a major class project.
“Austin demonstrated a great deal of initiative in creating the vertical garden. He was instrumental in maintaining the garden to make sure it looked nice. He was one of the student leaders in planting and harvesting the vegetables.”
Arjay Mayer- Berlin CSD
Arjay graduated in 2014 and attended Sackett Educational Center. While he was at Sackett, he completed an internship at NAPA Auto Parts. He is currently employed at Bush Products, installing stone countertops. Arjay also completed training at Southeast Lineman Training Center in Trenton, Georgia in April 2015. SLTC prepares graduates for apprenticeships as electrical or communications lineman working on power or phone/television lines.
Arjay says his experiences at Sackett and working at NAPA helped prepare him for what he’d be expected to do in the workplace.
“Because of my work at NAPA, I learned the importance of being dependable. My supervisor there was great and he helped me learn a lot about what it means to be a good employee. I gained self-confidence in my work there because he was willing to teach me responsibilities that I had never done before. When he told me that I was doing a great job, it meant a lot to me.”
Roy Brandt- Hudson City School District
Roy graduated from Hudson in 2016 and attended Catskill Academy as well as CGEC for Automotive Services I and II. In the Auto Services program, Roy completed 62 hours of WBL and while attending Catskill Academy, he volunteered with meal preparation at the Camp Grace Soup Kitchen in Catskill.
Roy currently works as a sales associate in the electronics department at Wal-Mart. Mari Warfel, Roy’s social worker says his experience at Catskill Academy and the Career Studies program at CGEC have helped him be successful at work. She says he’s improved his people skills and successfully met the challenges of working with people from many backgrounds while also improving his communication skills.
She says Roy also has a good understanding of electronics. This knowledge along with the skills he developed from WBL with Questar III allows him to assist his customers at Wal-Mart with their questions about electronics.
To learn more about NDEAM, visit the US Department of Labor’s website.
