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Transition students leaving
February 22, 2008
For nearly 20 years, high school students in the Community Based Transition Program have worked on campus in a variety of roles.
The program, developed by Tacoma Public Schools, provides high school students ages 18 to 21 and who have a disability with the opportunity to learn life and job skills. It combines the expertise of special education with career and technical education.
Currently, three students work at PLU’s recycling center three days a week, collecting and processing the vast majority of the university’s paper recycling. Their last day is Feb. 29.
A farewell reception will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. in Chris Knutzen Hall.
The school district can no longer afford to bus the students to PLU, which is technically out of the Tacoma district. The students and program directors will move to other program sites in Tacoma, said Edie Pelham, site coordinator for the PLU program.
“This has been a tremendous experience for all of us. Everyone at PLU has made a point of including us and making us feel like a part of the team,” Pelham said.
A few years before the transition program officially formed, PLU’s former director of facilities, Frank Felcyn, hired some students in Lincoln High School’s development program to wash windows and pick up paper recycling.
Tacoma Public Schools created the transition program in 1990 to get the older special education students into more age-appropriate work settings, Pelham said. When the program started, PLU was one of three community worksites.
Over the years, the students have performed a variety of duties, from picking up and processing the recycling to cleaning dining areas, Pelham said. Students have worked in the library, at Dining and Culinary Services, KPLU, the bookstore and concerts in Lagerquist Concert Hall, and in cleaning services and grounds management.
Pelham said it’s hard to list all the ways the students benefit from the program. The experience is rewarding because the students do real work in a work setting around other working adults, and they learn and practice all the skills they’ll need for successful employment.
“Probably the most exciting part is when we see students’ self-esteem and self-confidence build as they find out how much they are capable of doing,” she explained.
“Our partnership with PLU has played a very important role in the success of our students in the years after they’ve completed our program,” she continued. “Many are successful in work because of the experiences they've had working at PLU.”
Environmental Services Coordinator Barb McConathy credits the students and the program with the success of PLU’s paper recycling program.
“Without them, the plus paper program would not be – actually the recycling program would not be what it is today,” she said. “They provide a great resource to PLU with their service, and we provide them an opportunity and a place for training.”
McConathy said Franklin Pierce and Bethel high schools were interested in taking over for the Tacoma students.
“We’re going to miss them,” McConathy said.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.
Currently, three students work at PLU’s recycling center three days a week, collecting and processing the vast majority of the university’s paper recycling. Their last day is Feb. 29.
A farewell reception will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. in Chris Knutzen Hall.
The school district can no longer afford to bus the students to PLU, which is technically out of the Tacoma district. The students and program directors will move to other program sites in Tacoma, said Edie Pelham, site coordinator for the PLU program.
“This has been a tremendous experience for all of us. Everyone at PLU has made a point of including us and making us feel like a part of the team,” Pelham said.
A few years before the transition program officially formed, PLU’s former director of facilities, Frank Felcyn, hired some students in Lincoln High School’s development program to wash windows and pick up paper recycling.
Tacoma Public Schools created the transition program in 1990 to get the older special education students into more age-appropriate work settings, Pelham said. When the program started, PLU was one of three community worksites.
Over the years, the students have performed a variety of duties, from picking up and processing the recycling to cleaning dining areas, Pelham said. Students have worked in the library, at Dining and Culinary Services, KPLU, the bookstore and concerts in Lagerquist Concert Hall, and in cleaning services and grounds management.
Pelham said it’s hard to list all the ways the students benefit from the program. The experience is rewarding because the students do real work in a work setting around other working adults, and they learn and practice all the skills they’ll need for successful employment.
“Probably the most exciting part is when we see students’ self-esteem and self-confidence build as they find out how much they are capable of doing,” she explained.
“Our partnership with PLU has played a very important role in the success of our students in the years after they’ve completed our program,” she continued. “Many are successful in work because of the experiences they've had working at PLU.”
Environmental Services Coordinator Barb McConathy credits the students and the program with the success of PLU’s paper recycling program.
“Without them, the plus paper program would not be – actually the recycling program would not be what it is today,” she said. “They provide a great resource to PLU with their service, and we provide them an opportunity and a place for training.”
McConathy said Franklin Pierce and Bethel high schools were interested in taking over for the Tacoma students.
“We’re going to miss them,” McConathy said.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.