Experience Extended
At the Center Avenue Community School, students from seventh to 12th grades learn on the job through the school's Community-Based Vocational Training program.
This allows students to go to different workplaces to hone their social skills and other soft skills necessary for employment, according to Alicia Beighley, the building administrator at Center Avenue.
The program has been in the Butler School District for more than 20 years, said Cari Boozel, assistant special education director in the district.
“The goal of the program is really to help them learn the social skills they need and the job tasks to get them ready for employment,” Boozel said.
Students have a variety of locations to choose from, including Rapp's Bicycle Center, Friedman's Freshmarkets and Penn United Technologies.
The sites have been expanding districtwide too, based on different student interests, Beighley said.
“We really try, over time, to hone in on what kind of vocational area they're interested in,” she said. “It's generally driven because a student has an interest.”
Rapp's is a new site this year because Drake Stowers, a 10th grader in the program, said bicycles are his hobby.
Drake has made his own bikes, three-wheelers and four-wheelers using his own parts and design, Beighley said.
At Rapp's, students learn how to assemble new bikes, and owner Jeff Rapp gives each student his own bike to take apart, clean up and reassemble. The students then get to keep their bikes, he said.
“It gets them more motivated if they're working on a project for themselves,” Rapp said.
Drake was so excited about the bike that he fixed up for himself that he showed it off at the school, Beighley said.
It's part of why Marcus Tillery, a ninth grader, has started working at Rapp's recently. He wants to fix up a bike of his own.
But it's not all about the bikes the students get to keep, according to Rick Callen at Rapp's.
“We're hoping they get an interest in (building bikes),” Callen said. “You learn, when you're doing somebody else's bicycle, that it's not about you. 'Good enough' is not good enough.”
At Penn United, Community school students have a new curriculum specifically designed by Scott Covert, the training coordinator at Penn United. Beighley said the program this year is an 18-week program, but next school year's program will be a full year.
Every Friday, five or six students from Center Avenue go to Penn United to work with Covert.There, the students get to work on manufacturing-specific skills like drawing blueprints and learning about workplace safety, according to Tom Long, a guidance counselor at Center Avenue.“They really get to see what industry looks like and all the things that go into it,” Long said.Another location is the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where the students have made blankets for the senior citizens.Marcus even goes to Sunnyview to teach origami to the residents on occasion, according to Beighley.The variety of experiences also is important, especially for the younger students.“We like them to have multiple experiences,” Beighley said. “Some of the younger students don't know what they like to do yet.”Long said the students benefit so much from the program, not only as students but also as people. Their self-esteem and problem-solving skills grow through the opportunities provided at each workplace.“We just see tremendous growth from our students. It's amazing,” Long said. “Confidence is a big one too. The students just love to go out for CBVT. When they come back, they always have stories to tell.”For some students, the program gives them a reason to be excited about going to school, and Long has seen some students' attendance improve. Other students even dress up on the days that they know they'll be heading out to different locations.It provides new experiences with more real-life applications.“It has a real-life meaning, which adds value (to the experience) for the students,” Boozel said.Beighley stressed that it's truly a great community and school relationship.“They make such a difference in these students' lives,” she said, stressing how thankful she is that businesses have allowed students to extend their learning experiences into the workplace.
