Post-high school transition services provide special ed students with life skills

After growing up in the kitchen by his mom’s side, kneading dough and placing toppings for homemade pizza, East alum Jack Melvin decided he wanted to work in a restaurant when he grew up — specifically at Joe’s Kansas City, his favorite barbeque joint.

As a student with down syndrome, Jack continued with SMSD’s special education services after graduating last year by participating in the district’s post-high school transition program to develop social and vocational skills for future job opportunities. 

For his vocational training, Jack is currently working at the Lakeview Village dining hall and childcare center during part of his school day, but hopes to be placed in the Broadmoor Bistro at the Center for Academic Achievement within the next year to receive more restaurant specific training.

The post-high transition services provide graduated high school students aged 18 to 21 with skills needed to adjust to life after high school: independent living skills, job training and social skills. 

The five classrooms provided for the 46 students in the program are located at Shawnee Mission South — with separate entrance and exit doors to separate the area from the high school. The district did this intentionally so the students don’t feel like they’re still in high school.

The school day is the same as other SMSD high schools, from 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m, but most of the students in the program leave throughout the day to attend unpaid internships for job training, classes at Johnson County Community College and field trips to grocery and department stores. Recently, Jack went to IKEA with his class to plan out a hypothetical future apartment.

“It’s been a good transition because the hours are the same, there’s a bus to and from the job sites, but it’s not like he’s still in high school,” Jack’s mom Joan Melvin said. “It’s been a nice extension where he can zero in on job skills, but they still have that time in the morning for movement activities and stuff they did at East.”

The program is individualized to each student’s needs based on their Individualized Education Plan, which states the student’s goals and accommodations they need with various staff, whether in isolation, in the community or in a general education classroom.

“We look at the students’ preferences, their interests, and what skills they’re wanting to develop,” SMSD’s secondary transition specialist Kelly Chapman said. “We want to put them in a place where they want to work [in the future], for example if they want retail, then they need cash register experience.”

Former East parent Sharon Walker had two kids attend the post-high school transition program, who are now living 

independently with the support of the Mission Project, a non-profit corporation that enables adults with developmental disabilities to live independently with individualized support. 

Walker believes SMSD’s post-high services provide a way to transition between high school and independent living. 

“The post-high services give them more independence [than high school] because there’s not someone constantly watching over them, especially with the internships,” Walker said.

Now 23 and 26, Dan and Elli Walker learned skills through the program that they use on a daily basis — punching a time clock, responding to emails, writing thank you notes and basic money management. They are now both employed, Elli at CBIZ and the Down Syndrome Guild and Dan at McGonigle’s Market, where they have similar duties as the ones in their post-high internships — stocking supplies, cleaning windows and organizing.

Chapman believes the district is constantly trying to better the post-high school transition services by adapting the environment and expanding the jobs available. The program was initially based in Broadmoor Technical Center since 2001, but moved to South in 2015 where students could have a separate wing of the building while still having access to amenities like the cafeteria and gym. The range of job sites offered has also broadened, now with eight sites offered in the morning and 10 in the afternoon.

“We really try to create an adult atmosphere with the internships while providing that type of structure with the classroom time,” SMSD special education director Sherry Dumolien said. “We don’t have a bell schedule or anything, but we do have some organized instruction.”

Because of this structure, Joan Melvin believes Jack has become much more independent after only one semester in 

the program.

“When he goes to his job site he knows exactly where he needs to go, he checks his watch to make sure he’s on time, he’s taken on a lot of responsibility,” Joan said. “Social skills too, it’s very, very personal at both Lakeview and South, so he’s gained a lot of maturity.”

Dumolien believes that while the students are positively impacted by their internship, they also have a positive impact on the worksite.

“This year, having students here at the CAA and continually seeing the inclusive aspect, the collegial conversations, the friendly banter between individuals that their paths may have never crossed, is a good feeling,” Dumolien said. “I wouldpredict that there is an uptick in people eating lunches and coffee in the Bistro just to be able to engage in those conversations.”

Catherine Erickson