Photo Courtesy of Google
“Richmond Hill High School is pleased to help launch this new initiative,” said Neil Ganesh, Principal of Richmond Hill High School.
By Forum Staff
The Institute for Career Development (ICD) recently announced the launch of the initial phase of a planned citywide initiative to help youth with disabilities transition from school to career. Tens of thousands of students with disabilities leave public high schools every year only to find themselves face to face with a gap where the services they depended upon to finish school had previously been. This new initiative, created by ICD while working with the nonprofit consulting firm The Bridgespan Group, is designed to bridge this gap by providing services that enhance college and career opportunities for youth with disabilities.
The initial phase of this initiative consists of a pilot program in partnership with Discovery High School in the Kingsbridge Heights section of The Bronx and Richmond Hill High School in Queens. With the start of the new school year, ICD now has on-site at each school a full-time “Navigator” available to work with any student who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan to prepare the student to make the jump to college or vocational training and embark upon a career. The Navigators, whose services are available at no cost to students or schools, will guide students around obstacles and over hurdles as they work to build skills needed to launch fulfilling careers.
Photo Courtesy of ICD
“This new initiative will help students with disabilities to better understand how to advocate for themselves and successfully navigate their way through the complex systems of services and supports available to them after they leave school,” said Joseph T. McDonald, ICD President of Development and Communications.
The Navigators are supported by ICD’s full-time Transition Services Manager. She will split her time between school sites, amplifying the services provided by the Navigators and operating as the primary point of contact for school staff and parents of program participants. ICD staff will also work with each school to develop employer partners within their communities to provide work experiences for their students.
“This new initiative will help students with disabilities to better understand how to advocate for themselves and successfully navigate their way through the complex systems of services and supports available to them after they leave school,” said Joseph T. McDonald, ICD President of Development and Communications. “It offers enormous potential to build the self-confidence, resilience, and agency that they will need to overcome the biases and barriers to employment that they will face as adults.”
“Richmond Hill High School is pleased to help launch this new initiative,” added Neil Ganesh, Principal of Richmond Hill High School. “It offers long-term, holistic support to our students through their high school years and beyond that we believe will lead to greater self-determination, better economic mobility, and improved overall well-being.”
