Students Step Into the Work World
Students Step Into the Work World
A Job Training Program Helps Disabled Students Secure a Future
By Dave Arnold
It's a tough world out there, but every school employee I know tries to help children prepare for it. It's not easy, but our nation's educators persist, every single day.
When a student has a learning or physical disability that might limit their job prospects after high school, it takes a special breed of educator to step in. It also takes a special program like the Secondary Transitional Experience Program (STEP).
This program comes to mind as the National Education Association celebrates its 87th Annual American Education Week from November 16-22. The theme, "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility," highlights quality education from kindergarten to college.
It also emphasizes the teamwork necessary to make public schools great places for all students, including those with disabilities.
Developing Job Skills
STEP is designed to provide supervised work experience for high school students with disabilities. Emphasis is placed on developing appropriate work-related habits and attitudes, and on acquiring marketable work skills. STEP provides an opportunity for students to experience guided on-the-job training while working toward a diploma.
To participate in this school-to-work program, a student must be age 16 (generally, a junior or senior in high school) and identified as having a disabling condition that would create a barrier toward future employment.
In my 27 years as a custodian, it was my honor to have served as a STEP supervisor. I always liked the practical and educational approach of the program. Students usually spend about two or three hours of each school day at an established worksite training station. The training station may be located at a local business or on training sites within the school district.
Coordinated Effort
Supervision of the student is provided by a coordinator with the student's employer, teachers, and parents. The coordinator is responsible for obtaining worksites, developing an individual training plan for each participant, coordinating instructional information as needed, and evaluating student progress.
Over the years, I have worked with five or six STEP coordinators and have had at least one and as many as three students working with me each year. I have worked with the best of students and with others who have had more than their share of problems, but the progress that each one of them makes is obvious and priceless.
I have witnessed shy, timid and clueless students transform into skilled, confident workers. You simply cannot put a price on witnessing that kind of reward.
Everyone Benefits
Several employers have called me over the years stating that a former STEP student has used me as a reference. I'm always honest with the prospective employer and try to encourage them to hire the applicant. In my mind, both the student and employer benefit from the experience.
Advantages for the student include:
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Receiving work-related instruction that enhances job-training experience.
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Earning school credit(s) toward graduation.
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Earning wages while in school.
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Developing social skills needed to maintain successful employment.
Benefits to the employer include:
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Hiring enthusiastic students who are available to work a part-time job.
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Working with students whose interests and abilities assure a good job match.
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Receiving assistance from school staff.
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Investing in employees of the future work force.
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Preparing students for employment while they work toward a diploma.
Occasionally I'll encounter one of the former students working at a local business and they fill me in on their life since high school. But, just to see them working tells me that their experience in STEP was a success.
More Dave's columns.
(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is a custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at darnoldjanitor@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.
School Nurses in Demand
School Nurses in Demand
All Vital Signs Point to Need for Health Care Professionals
By Dave Arnold
Most people know that America suffers from a teacher shortage. Most may not know, however, about the dire shortage of school nurses.
The nursing shortage isn't new to educators and organizations, such as the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses (NFLPN). Part of their never-ending mission is to create awareness among community leaders, state and federal legislators. What they also advocate is appropriate funding.
District Health Liaison
Funding for school nurse salaries generally comes from local tax revenue. The more distressed an area, the greater the likelihood of schools not having a nurse and the greater the need for medical attention for needy students who probably don't see a doctor on a regular basis. Consequently, schools that need a nurse the most are the ones least able to afford one.
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) recommends no less than one nurse for every 750 students. According to NASN, the average public school nurse cares for 1,151 students at 2.2 schools. But ratios vary from one state to another. In Vermont, students have one nurse per 275 students. In Utah it's one nurse per 4,893 students. In Minnesota, the ratio is one nurse for about every 1,400 students. Legislators and community leaders in states like Alabama (one nurse per 936 students), Georgia (one per 1,734) and Tennessee (one per 1,415) have been working to improve these ratios. Why? Because school nurses do far more than apply band aids and ice packs.
Reduce Student Absenteeism
Nurses are the health liaisons for the school district. For example, they are the educator of proper personal hygiene. They often prevent absenteeism just by teaching students how to keep from spreading germs by washing their hands properly.
Students seeking health services are less likely to be sent home if evaluated by a nurse, rather than an unlicensed worker. A study reported in the Journal of School Nursing (December 2005) found 57 percent fewer students seeking medical assistance left school early after contact with a school nurse. Often, a nurse can assess a medical situation, find an answer to the problem, and send the student back to class, minimizing absenteeism.
Absenteeism Linked to Funding
What few school boards and administrators take into consideration when trying to balance their budgets is that a school nurse can actually pay for their salaries by reducing the number of absentees.
In my school district in Brownstown, Illinois, if the nurse were to actually prevent a few students from being absent each day, the school district would receive enough additional state funding to cover her salary.
My school district woke up to this fact when they lerned they were being docked drastically in state funding just because of student absenteeism. Our school district receives approximately $28 per student, per day in funding from the state. This figure varies with school districts and locations. But the state will dock our school district approximately $150 per day for each absent student.
Nurse Supply Economics
Recently, our school board hired a nurse in spite of having a tight budget. What they did was survey nurse salaries in neighboring schools and hospitals, then up the ante.
If our school district can do it so can yours. Educators, school boards, and parents need to unite and fight for additional state funding for school nurses. No one can argue that healthy children are not worth additional funding.
More Dave's columns.
(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is a custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at darnoldjanitor@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.
There's more online about the nursing shortage , including a list of nursing categories.
