LT Transition Program Teaches Business Basics

Laid out on a table in The Coral at are tiles, slips of paper with images of the LT logo, glue and other supplies. In neat stacks, recently completed coasters pile up waiting to be wrapped and then sent out to fill orders. Like Santa's elves, the students in LT's Transition Program have been working to complete the long list of orders that have come in before Christmas.

The workshop, called Transition Works: Coaster Creations, is part of a program that assists students with a range of disabilities job skills for life beyond high school. Orders need to be filled and materials checked, ordered and processed. A student worker fills each role as part of their vocational activities at the program.

The LT Transition Program works to help these students learn valuable skills for the demands of living life independently as an adult. At the program, students learn to clean up after themselves, cook food and maintain a home among other activities. Building skills that will be required at a variety of jobs is an important part of that process too, said Cara Brown, a special education teacher at LT.

"These kids make deposits, manage the inventory and lead the creative process," Brown said as we toured the facility. "It teaches real world job skills they'll need to have when they look for a job in the community."

At a recent Parent Teacher Council event, Coaster Creations sold out of all of their wares and was able to use the money to purchase a cash register to make sales going forward. Using the register at events to sell their products also gives the students a chance to learn a valuable skill to put on their resumes for future employment.

"All of this helps the students to be more independent," Brown said. "Learning to track the stock of our products and order new supplies with the proceeds are important skills."

Unemployment High for People with Disabilities

Learning skills to serve themselves outside of school is an important step for every LT student. But for students with disabilities, finding a job in the community after high school can be more difficult.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, individuals with disabilities currently face a 13 percent unemployment rate compared to an 8 percent unemployment rate for those without disabilities.

"These students want jobs when they leave [the Transition Program]," Brown said. "They want to be a part of the community and work, and our goal here to give them real, concrete skills they can use to get them."

Matt Mardiks, a student in the program, said that he agreed that the skills he learned at LT helped him find his new job at McDonalds. Working the cash register for Coaster Creations gave him skills to put on his resume when he applied for the job.

"It wasn't easy at first," Mardiks said of learning the register, "but I got to practice."

At the , located in Countryside, learning job skills is an important part of independent living as well.

"Our mission is to provide each person in our program with the skills and assistance necessary to achieve their highest level of independence," said Julie Hautamaki, chief clinical officer at the Helping Hand Center. "If you can get someone working, it helps them attain independence and gives back to the community as well."

Beth Hooton, employment services supervisor at Helping Hand, said she was pleased to hear about LT's Coaster Creations program. At Helping Hand, participants also learn job skills by using a cash register and maintaining services in their cafeteria, to gain skills for entry-level employment at companies like Best Buy, Target and Home Depot.

Hooton said Helping Hand had a lot of success with job placement last year with about 30 placements for jobs in the community. Like other unemployed people looking for work, Hooton said her clients are committed to finding jobs where they are valued and which they enjoy.

Both Hooton and Hautamaki agreed that like any student, learning job skills early is a benefit to those looking for employment. With cuts in state funding, students getting out of high school especially have had a difficult time getting funding for services like those offered at Helping Hand, resulting in a traffic jam of applicants. Currently, the state is only distributing these funds to those with emergency needs, and Helping Hand has had to work with families on ways to pay out of pocket, and supplement their funding with help from private donors.

Coaster Creations Takes Off

Back at LT, the program is doing incredibly well, Brown said. Since October, Coaster Creations has sold more than 400 of their products. In the summer, they plan to expand the program to include selling the wares at more LT events and at local farmer's markets.

There are other areas the students want to get involved in too—namely expanding to a wider line of products available for sale.

Currently, each coaster is sold for $3 with a set of four coasters going for $10. Customers can also purchase unique coasters by sending in family photos or other images for Coaster Creations to put on tiles.

"They make great Christmas gifts," Brown said.

At a Dec. 19 LT Board of Education meeting, board members got just that—a stack of LT coasters courtesy of Coaster Creations as a thank you for their support.