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Bringing in guest speakers in different career fields is an excellent way for students to learn more about their career options. These students are able to ask specific questions about each persons career field, finding out information that might not readily be available. Hearing the information first hand also helps to add to the validity of the information as well.

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Your Future is Our Business, Empowering Students in Transitioning from Schools to Careers

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In this video it discusses why getting students out into the community and experiencing jobs and practicing classroom concepts is so critical to the students overall success. When you have the students in a work-study program, the students can work on jobs skills that they specifically need with hands-on training.

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Students are involved in a community transition program. They work with a local landscaping business weekly. This video shows a great example of how working on the job can benefit students and help build job skills.

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TUSD1 - Community Transition Program's Team 7 - Roving Grounds Crew

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Crash course YouTube is a great way to inform and entertain students on learning new skills. This video on Time Management is an excellent  conversation starter for helping students learn how to manage their time wisely. This “soft skill” is very important in any job or post secondary schooling they may participate in.

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Making Time Management Work for You: Crash Course Business - Soft Skills #10

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In this video, the students in the orange vests are working along side various construction crews to build a basketball court this past summer. The students are in various CTE classes mainly construction. The significance of this video is that one of my special education students who they said would be unsafe in this class is one of the participants here. He did such a good job shadowing and working that he was offered a job the next summer by 3 of the construction groups they worked with. The CTE class opened the door to this opportunity which opened the door to further opportunities beyond school.

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Transition fairs are a great way for students to see what jobs are out there and what it will take to get those jobs. The fairs give the students opportunities to talk to the professionals themselves and learn more about the specific jobs. Attending fairs allows students to see many and not just one,!

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Special education students in Springdale took part in a transition fair to help in their journey after high school.

The students met with professionals inside Har-Ber High School's gym to learn what steps they can take after graduation.

Tara Harshaw, the director for Special Education Services for the Springdale School District, talks about just how important this event is for these students and parents.

"It's kind of different after they graduate from high school. You have teachers and stuff that kind of help you walk through things," said Tara Harshaw, director for Special Education Services, Springdale School District.

Arkansas Rehab Services, the University of Arkansas and a Dress for Success station were some of the groups at the transition fair.

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Springdale Special Education Students Look at Post-High School Future

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Special education students in Springdale took part in a transition fair to help in their journey after high school. The students met with professionals inside Har-Ber High School's gym to learn what steps they can take after graduation.

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A reverse job fair is an event in which students remain stationary, and the employer representatives move about from candidate to candidate.  In addition to resumes, students are able to create displays that promote their strengths to potential employers.  Previous to the event, students are participate in a "boot camp" to brush up in  their "soft skills".  An interesting and novel approach to the traditional career fair model.

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Project SEARCH is an employment model program for young adults with significant disabilities based at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. They have programs across the country, collaborating with variety of schools, and children's hospitals. This video is a great example of what on-the- job training looks like. This video displays the collaboration between teachers, job coaches, and employers which are instrumental in creating success for students with significant disabilities.
More information can be found at: https://www.projectsearch.us/

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Project Search: New Pathways for Young Adults with Disabilities

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Career Preparation- May the Workforce be with you.

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Career Preparation- May the Workforce be with you.

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A webinar that provides specific methods to teach students seeking employment, strategies for helping students generalize skills they learn at school for application in the workplace. This webinar also provides ideas for teachers to make transition planning effective as well as meaningful.  Areas of career preparation addressed in this video include: using transportation to get to work, teaching punctuality, and wearing appropriate work attire.

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May the Workforce be with You: Preparing Students with Special Needs for On-the-job Success

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Career Preparation - University of Arizona Project Focus

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Career Preparation - University of Arizona Project Focus

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Project Focus is a two-year transition program for students, age 18-22, with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  This partnership between the University of Arizona and Pima County Public Schools provides students with the opportunity to experience an inclusive college experience, work in an internship (on or off campus), and develop social networks and support systems within the community.   The main goals of Project Focus are to allow students to increase academic acquisition in an actual university setting, provide opportunities to gain and amplify independent living skills, build self-determination, and bridge the gap to successful employment.  This program provides academics, work experience, internships, skill building, progression of responsibility, and community engagement.

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Career Exploration - PAES Lab Career Exploration System

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Career Exploration - PAES Lab Career Exploration System

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The PAES (Practical Assessment Exploration System) effectively turns a classroom into a workplace simulation area where students can explore five different career clusters (Computer Technology, Construction/Industrial, Processing/Production, Consumer/Service, and Business/Marketing). The system can be implemented in middle school to gauge student interest in high school electives and CTE rotations. The system can also be used at the high school level to gauge career interest, develop additional skill sets, and assess student potential for competitive employment across a broad range of job placements. The system is also typically paired with an academic curriculum that helps develop real-world math, reading, writing, self-advocacy, and determination skills.

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Career Awareness - Informational Interviews

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Career Awareness - Informational Interviews

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This video shows the viewer how to set up and conduct an informational interview in order to gain insight into a career path.  Informational interviews extend career research beyond reading about careers, and into gathering information first-hand from someone who actually works in the field.  Not only do informational interviews provide up-to-the-minute insight into a career path, they also enable the person conducting the interview to gather pertinent data about working for a specific employer, as well as allowing the interviewer to expand his or her professional network or contacts.  Informational interviews also provide excellent opportunities for students to inquire about job shadows, internships, and work place visits.  Oftentimes, people who actually work within a specific industry can also direct students to resources that counselors, teachers, and transition specialists may be unaware of.

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The Informational Interview: Researching a Career

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Becky Oliver

A career fair is an excellent way for students to become aware of the numerous jobs that are out there in the “real world.”  This high school partners with local businesses to provide a 3 day training on resume building and interview skills as well as a chance to network with local businesses in the area.

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Becky Oliver

Job shadowing is an excellent way for students to get an idea of many different jobs and careers!  This video shows the benefits of job shadowing and how exploring many different jobs can help students determine the vocational path for their own future!

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High School Students Explore Careers with Job Shadow Program

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Career Preparation - Project Search Internships

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Career Preparation - Project Search Internships

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Becky Oliver

Project SEARCH is a national program that provides internships at local businesses for individuals with disabilities.  Some programs provide internships for students that are still in the school system but this particular Project SEARCH site has opportunities your young adults ages 22 and up. Shaw Industries and Project SEARCH provides on the job training to these individuals which is so important for their success!

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Career Preparation: Project Discovery Adapted

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Career Preparation: Project Discovery Adapted

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Project Discovery is an example of a curriculum that teaches student prerequisite job skills that would be needed for a future career. Project Discovery has components that address career awareness and career exploration while teaching essential job skills. A program like Project Discovery can help students with more significant disabilities learn job skills and assist their teachers with knowing what particular skills they can help the student with as the student prepares for a post-secondary job.

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Annie Graham's Project Discovery Success Story

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In Saratoga Springs, NY, a district has a school-to-work program that supports students ages 16-21 with building their career skills and giving them opportunities to explore various jobs within their community. Having internships or jobs with local companies can give students several options of jobs to explore and try out. This video depicts a success story of one student who tried out a job site as part of an internship and was hired on afterwards.

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Having working individuals come into the classroom is one way that students can learn about various careers that are available to them. Having a professional in the career area that the students  may be interested in visit can give the students an opportunity to ask questions and learn about different careers and job opportunities. A variety of visitors can give students a wide range of options that they may not have considered before. It can be a productive way to introduce different careers to students in a school setting.