"She enjoyed it and made new friends."
"I thought that it helped him become more aware of the business world."
"He became more of an 'outgoing' person."
Overall it appears that these young adults have gained the following through their PEP
engagement:
• Had an opportunity to think about what is possible! Identified their interests, abilities,
values, and work personality; then, match those attributes to careers.
• Met and had conversations with employers.
• Established themselves as a cohort, all learning together.
• Experienced a pre-employment program that will help to prepare them for life beyond
school, which their sighted peers have not likely had.
• Gained knowledge and skills around job readiness, resumes, soft skills, and employer
expectations.
• Designed an Action Plan to tackle what is next for them and defined how what they
learned in PEP can assist them in their future experiences!
The pilot effort helped staff recognize that students need more support within the classroom for
differentiation of instruction. In the second iteration, they have provided more individual time with students
to really get to know them and meet their individual needs, which has worked well. Following the pilot,
staff felt they needed a more thorough (and discerning) application process, which they implemented in
the second iteration and feel the current class is more homogenous and productive as a result. They also
felt that they needed to emphasize quality over quantity regarding content covered. Rather than adhere
rigidly to the curriculum in the second session, they now offer more interactive activities to teach the
underlying constructs (i.e., increased experiential learning and decreased content learning via lectures).
Finally, the staff have noted that parents find the Saturday design challenging and would prefer additional
scheduling options.
The second PEP offering, begun in Spring 2017, has nine students (ages 15 to 20 years old)
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Volume 62 Issue 2
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