After conducting a comprehensive study on the Central Virginia Community College Transition program, Lynchburg City Schools’ Director of Exceptional Learners Wyllys VanDerwerker said the program will continue for the next school year with a few changes.
The division previously briefly considered discontinuing the program due to declining enrollment. For the 2017-18 school year, there were 10 students enrolled in the program.
VanDerwerker said the decision came after speaking with parents and students previously enrolled in the two-year program.
The survey showed parents and students most appreciated the independence afforded students and the communication and social skills they gained while on campus.
As a result, the revamped program will include a focus on the five C’s: creative thinking, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and citizenship. The program designed to teach students daily living skills and how to maintain a job will continue to be taught by CVCC teachers and Lynchburg City Schools staff. Students pay $3,650 in tuition to CVCC for fall, spring and partial summer semesters.
VanDerwerker said it’s important for students with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 22 to be in an integrated environment, “meaning an adult environment with their same age, non-disabled peers.”
Jim Lemons, CVCC associate vice president for workforce, business and allied health, said he’s excited the program will continue because it’s been very beneficial to students since its inception in 2005.
“There are many, many things I think we could deliver to those individuals that would make them employable or more employable, and I’m excited we’re going to continue to do it,” Lemons said.
Barb Franz, whose son enrolled in the first CVCC Transition class and graduated from the program in 2007, said she’s also excited the program will continue. She said the program was a “big self-esteem factor” for her son.
Other changes to the program include an increase in internships and activities to prepare students for competitive employment, opportunities to receive workplace credentials and a focus on first aid and CPR.
Besides ensuring students leave the program with a resume of skills they’ve mastered, VanDerwerker said they want to have students connected with volunteer opportunities “to increase the quality of their lives.”
Franz said the students’ being in the community is “extremely important” because people need to know “what our kids can do, not what they can’t do.” She said her son has worked at McDonald’s for 16 years and outlasted many managers and staff and has gotten to know a lot of people through that situation.”
“He’s extremely proud of his work and very conscientious of what he’s doing, and I think that not only needs to be a factor in their lives but the community too. They have as much right to have an opportunity to do what they can do and not just be sitting at home,” Franz said.
The program also will be available to more students. Students with disabilities from LCS’ two high schools who are not seeking a standard diploma or enrolled in the functional skills program but need more experience with supported employment will be able to enroll in the Transition program, VanDerwerker said. Previously, the program only was open to students who weren’t pursuing a standard diploma and were enrolled in the functional skills program.
“We want to give [students] an opportunity to benefit from being on a college campus, interacting with non-disabled peers that are age appropriate as well as trying to get them the work training and supportive employment that they need,” VanDerwerker said.
The enrollment goal for the next school year is nine students, but VanDerwerker said in following years, the division anticipates a growing number of students involved in the program. Since the program’s inception in 2005, 188 students have gone through the program.
The future of the program might also include opportunities for students to manage their own apartments, but nothing has been finalized yet, VanDerwerker said.
“That was a little bit of the feedback we got from not only interacting with past students but also our own analysis of the types of skills. One of the things we’d like to get the students to is being able to be at least semi-independent if not independent in the community,” VanDerwerker said.