Upon becoming SHS’s job coach in 2022, Kerry Simpson wanted to ensure that students with disabilities in the Work Based Learning program (WBL) are prepared for life after high school.
“I wanted to (be a) job coach for a long time,” Simpson said. “Just to get kids focused on getting to where they can contribute in life.”
The Work Based Learning program, which is run by teacher Jennifer Karushis and Simpson alongside her, is intended to give students with exceptional needs the chance to extend their learning outside of the classroom by offering volunteering opportunities both inside and away from SHS.
The program is made up of students from a variety of educational initiatives, including the Comprehensive Intervention Program (CIP).
Most days, Simpson drives a few participating students to nearby food pantries, churches and other local establishments with volunteer openings. These events often consist of organising and sorting food or packaging items for public distribution.
“The main goal is to get (the students) out there, and get them used to interacting with different people,” Simpson said.
He hopes that volunteering will help students thrive in working environments and teach them useful skills to assist them in reaching their goals later in life.
To best fulfill that goal, WBL is an adaptive program and can look different for every student. While some spend more time working outside of the school, others flourish in more familiar surroundings.
“We do a lot of in-building things … to fill those gaps in between our outside visits,” Karushis said. “We are always working on those basic skills … (like keeping track of) time and money, filling out applications…and some of those (other) soft skills.”
Usually several students can be found either bringing teachers coffee in the morning, baking sweet treats or doing laundry for certain classes around the school.
One student in particular, senior Sandy St. Louis, says that she has enjoyed helping out in her school and community through the WBL program.
“(These opportunities) impact me (through) communicating with others, helping one another and encouraging one another not to give up on their goals,” St. Louis said.
In the future, Simpson and Karushis hope that the program will continue to grow, and that it will go on to inspire more students to reach their boundless potential.
“We got a good routine, and we’re just trying to build on it,” Simpson said.
