Some of the East Williston school district’s older special education students spend almost as much time learning on the job as they do in the classroom.
Seven Wheatley School students spend four afternoons a week with local businesses and non-profits in the Life Skills Program the district started last year, Wheatley life skills teacher and transition coordinator Liza Laurino-Siegel said.
The students learn important career skills, such as how to dress in uniforms and interact with co-workers, customers and even animals.
While the program is a way for the companies to give back and teach the students important skills, Anna Holiday of Home Depot’s Jericho store said employees themselves learn how to “interact and understand” people with disabilities.
“You meet so many different people who you wouldn’t in a normal work environment,” said Leah Sunde, a board member at Westbury’s Pets4Luv animal shelter.
Party City in Carle Place, Spectrum Designs in Port Washington, Westbury’s Hicks Nursery, a FedEx Office store in East Hills and the Nassau County Executive’s Office join Home Depot and Pets4Luv among East Williston’s life skills partners, Laurino-Siegel said.
Some students also work in the Willets Road School and North Side School offices, she said.
Students work with job coaches and spend two afternoons a week at two jobs, rotating between sites throughout the year to match their likes and future goals, Laurino-Siegel said.
“The students are getting older and they’re ready to learn about the world of work, and there’s no better place to do it than our own community,” she said.
The district works with the students and their parents to determine which sites are best for them, Laurino-Siegel said.
The partner businesses treat the students much like employees, supplying them with uniforms, name tags and the like to “help them feel like they are working,” she said.
“We always love shopping at these stores, and have learned so many valuable skills along the way,” Wheatley student Sara Creamer said at the East Williston school board’s April 18 meeting. “We hope to continue to maintain a wonderful relationship with these businesses and look forward to future experiences in these vocations.”
At Home Depot, three Wheatley students work in the appliance and electrical departments cleaning merchandise and organizing shelves, Home Depot human resources employee Karen Ramos said.
At Pets4Luv, one student works with cats and is learning how to interact with dogs, Sunde said.
The program is a “win-win” because it teaches students how to interact with animals and gives the pets a comforting companion, she said.
For instance, Sunde said, reading to the dogs lets the student practice reading, calms down the dogs and puts them to sleep.
“It’s good for the animals, it’s good for the kids,” Sunde said. “We don’t turn away volunteers, no matter what their ability or disability or limitations are. We can always find a place for them or something to do while they’re with us.”
Pets4Luv’s other volunteers love getting to know the students and have formed good relationships with them, Sunde said.
Home Depot has worked with another school’s special education students before, Holiday said. Employees enjoy working with the students and giving them opportunities for real-world experience, she said.
“It’s rewarding knowing that we’re there to help them,” Ramos said.
Most school districts have work-based special education programs, Laurino-Siegel said.
East Williston’s Life Skills Program complements other district efforts to teach students hands-on skills, such as garden and kitchen programs, Laurino-Siegel said. The Wheatley students also run the school’s store and coffee cart on Fridays, she said.
“The students are really always, no matter what they’re doing, working and learning, which is the goal — work-based learning,” Laurino Siegel said.
