School Prepares Special Needs Students for Employment

Aug. 13–the students at Chautauqua have a greater struggle. Every student there has a disability.

The disabilities range from serious learning disorders to physical challenges to autism, said Cynthia McCauley, Chautauqua’s acting director. McCauley taught students with similar disabilities at Bay High School for 24 years.

However, once they left high school the students were often left with few options — if any.

“The main focus is to get them to work,” McCauley said. “Work he students at Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School dream of simple jobs. Allean Tisdale, 19, wants to work at Chuck E Cheese. Joel Orona, 20, wants to coach kids, while Angel Eason, 19, wants to help animals. For many people, those jobs would not be hard to get — but is so much more than a paycheck.”

The mission of Chautauqua is to train young adults with disabilities so they can find a job, keep it and live independently. Some students can accomplish that while others always will need help, McCauley said.

All of them will have to be very careful in choosing friends, jobs and living quarters.

“They can live in a community that would be nurturing,” McCauley said. But if they live in a dangerous area “they will be exploited.”

Tisdale sees nothing but possibilities.

“I think it’s really awesome they’re helping us get a job,” she said. “Kids with disabilities, they can do as normal kids do.”

The school has a building on Magnolia Avenue, but the students have not moved in. The building needs to be brought up to code, McCauley said. Until the work is completed, the students are learning at the Springfield Community Center, Gulf Coast Community College and Zoo World near Panama City Beach.

Zoo World has a classroom, and the students like to talk to the birds and watch the lemurs between lessons. McCauley, another teacher, assistants and various volunteers teach the students math, communication skills, school-to-work transition skills and skills for adult living.

They only have been together a week, but the students and faculty already have bonded, McCauley said.

“They’re getting to be like a family,” she said. “They take care of each other.”

Orona’s face shines when he talks about bowling in the Special Olympics. Eason likes to tell jokes.

“How does a leopard keep its house?” she asked a reporter. “Spotless.”

McCauley is hoping the community will take care of her and her students. Like regular public schools, charter schools are given tax money based on how many students attend. The financial situation is tight, McCauley said. As director, she had hoped her salary would stay the same as it did when she was a classroom teacher.

“Who knows what I will really get,” she said. “The challenges are great.”

McCauley’s main concern rests with her students and their ability to find a job. Eason feels certain that some day she will work with animals.

“I know the people here (at Chautauqua) will help me find a job,” she said.

—–

To see more of The News Herald — including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings — or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsherald.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.