Annette Bernsten
For the past eight years, Butler Community College has teamed up with high schools across Butler County to provide special education students with a smooth transition from high school to the real world.
“We are a vocational transition program for students coming out of high school,” Shirley Taylor, the coordinator of SEARCH, said. “They have to apply during their senior year, and they have to be accepted. All of my students have IEPs [Individualized Education Program], and they come with a variety of needs to make that transition into the work force.”
The program allows high school seniors to learn basic job skills and provides work experiences for them to apply these skills. After completing the program, students can go into the work force. If they do not have a job by the end of the program, they are assisted in acquiring one.
About eight students per year participate in the program, and at least 75 percent of those students are employed by the time they finish. During their course, students can get hands-on experience at a workplace, such as Great Western Dining or Susan B. Allen Hospital. Some can even work on the Butler campus with maintenance.
“I think we change lives,” Taylor said. “When students come in, they’re often times discouraged about their future, and we help them to see not just that the things that are hard for them to do, but the things that they can do. We all have things that are hard, and if you only focus on those that’s pretty limiting, so we really work on helping them see the things they can do and how they can problem solve even on some of the things that are hard to make it better. They’re very capable, and they can contribute to our society and our community.”
