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School district seeks jobs for special needs students
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| Round table - Kristi Collier is one of eight students in the Bridges Community-Based School working for Round Table Pizza four mornings a week. - PHOTO BY Nathan Wright |
Bridges program prepares for life after school by teaching skills
By Nathan Wright
Staff Writer
The Healdsburg Unified School District is looking for businesses interested in hiring special needs students from the Bridges Community-Based School, a program that prepares teenagers enrolled in special education for their adult lives.
The North County Consortium—a collective of school districts including Healdsburg Unified—assumed full responsibilities for the program from the Sonoma County Office of Education this fall. District leaders say the change gives special needs students the opportunity to work and learn within their own communities instead of busing down to Santa Rosa.
“We value student time,” said district superintendent Jeff Harding. “It’s an issue of respect. Students were spending several hours a day on a bus and we can improve the quality of their educational experience. This was a win-win for us.”
While under SCOE, the Bridges program partnered with businesses throughout Santa Rosa and greater Sonoma County to give students an opportunity to learn and practice working in the real world. Now that the program has moved to North County the North County Consortium is busy developing partnerships with north county businesses.
Lori Moore, an organizer of Healdsburg’s Strolling Dine Around event, lauded Bridges students for their work stuffing 2,500 brochures. “They were a huge help,” she said. “It was a really nice group of students. They did a perfect job. They smiled and they loved the work.”
In Windsor, Bridges’ students have for years worked at Round Table Pizza, breaking down boxes, washing dishes, cleaning and preparing ingredients. Assistant manager Violet Patocchi said the students are a big help and improve morale with their positive attitudes. “On the weekends when they don’t come in we notice the difference,” she said. “They love doing the work.”
Special education teacher Susan Anderson said the real world experience is very important to special needs students preparing for life after they finish school. By law, special education students begin school at 3 and finish at 22, 19 years of public education. Educators like Anderson are charged in the final years of helping students learn everything from using public transportation to paying for merchandise to handling social situations.
Students might have the skills to work, but Anderson says there’s much more to holding a job than just knowing how to get something done. “You don’t usually lose a job because you can’t do the work,” she said. “It’s usually a social issue that gets you fired.”
Bridges’ mission is to prepare students for the future by immersing them in the real world. In accomplishing this, Anderson said the world becomes a classroom. She takes her students to different businesses and restaurants so they’ll learn how to use skills in different environments. “They might know how to buy a drink at 7-11, but take them to the Dollar Store and they may become nervous,” she said. “We teach them social skills, like talking to strangers and crossing the street. We teach them about safety in their own community.”
Anderson believes the move from Santa Rosa to Windsor and Healdsburg will well serve her students in the long term, providing them with friendships and contacts where they live. Some will graduate the program and live independently in the north county. Others will continue living with family or in group homes.
“We want them to become members of the community instead of those others,” she said. “It’s all about how independent we can help them become. There are so many options out there.”
For information on the Bridges Community-Based School or to inquire about including students in your own business contact North County Consortium principal Ginger Dale at 837-7487 ext. 115.
The North County Consortium—a collective of school districts including Healdsburg Unified—assumed full responsibilities for the program from the Sonoma County Office of Education this fall. District leaders say the change gives special needs students the opportunity to work and learn within their own communities instead of busing down to Santa Rosa.
“We value student time,” said district superintendent Jeff Harding. “It’s an issue of respect. Students were spending several hours a day on a bus and we can improve the quality of their educational experience. This was a win-win for us.”
While under SCOE, the Bridges program partnered with businesses throughout Santa Rosa and greater Sonoma County to give students an opportunity to learn and practice working in the real world. Now that the program has moved to North County the North County Consortium is busy developing partnerships with north county businesses.
Lori Moore, an organizer of Healdsburg’s Strolling Dine Around event, lauded Bridges students for their work stuffing 2,500 brochures. “They were a huge help,” she said. “It was a really nice group of students. They did a perfect job. They smiled and they loved the work.”
In Windsor, Bridges’ students have for years worked at Round Table Pizza, breaking down boxes, washing dishes, cleaning and preparing ingredients. Assistant manager Violet Patocchi said the students are a big help and improve morale with their positive attitudes. “On the weekends when they don’t come in we notice the difference,” she said. “They love doing the work.”
Special education teacher Susan Anderson said the real world experience is very important to special needs students preparing for life after they finish school. By law, special education students begin school at 3 and finish at 22, 19 years of public education. Educators like Anderson are charged in the final years of helping students learn everything from using public transportation to paying for merchandise to handling social situations.
Students might have the skills to work, but Anderson says there’s much more to holding a job than just knowing how to get something done. “You don’t usually lose a job because you can’t do the work,” she said. “It’s usually a social issue that gets you fired.”
Bridges’ mission is to prepare students for the future by immersing them in the real world. In accomplishing this, Anderson said the world becomes a classroom. She takes her students to different businesses and restaurants so they’ll learn how to use skills in different environments. “They might know how to buy a drink at 7-11, but take them to the Dollar Store and they may become nervous,” she said. “We teach them social skills, like talking to strangers and crossing the street. We teach them about safety in their own community.”
Anderson believes the move from Santa Rosa to Windsor and Healdsburg will well serve her students in the long term, providing them with friendships and contacts where they live. Some will graduate the program and live independently in the north county. Others will continue living with family or in group homes.
“We want them to become members of the community instead of those others,” she said. “It’s all about how independent we can help them become. There are so many options out there.”
For information on the Bridges Community-Based School or to inquire about including students in your own business contact North County Consortium principal Ginger Dale at 837-7487 ext. 115.
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