While it may look like a game, students enrolled in the Pre-Employment Transition Services program are learning vital skills for the workforce as they spin the wheel and answer questions during a recent session in Ms. Amanda Oberkirsch’s high school classroom.
Pre-ETS Specialist Annie Appleton visits the class each week to help students prepare for life after high school. This week’s activity centered on self-advocacy.
“Students practiced self-advocacy skills today by participating in the ‘Floor is Lava’ activity, in which they took turns using a spinner to move to the coordinating color of stepping stone to answer the questions about their personal preferences and abilities,” Ms. Appleton said. “If the student arrived at a stone occupied by another student or struggled to navigate the path, they were encouraged to make an accommodation for themselves or ask for/provide help to one other. Students did not all take the exact same path, and some even took a completely different route to the finish line. The group engaged in a discussion about self-advocacy and the importance of making your needs and accommodations known so you can be successful at a job.
“The ultimate goal of Pre-ETS is to empower students toward successful futures,” Ms. Appleton said.
Ms. Oberkirsch said that her students are developing confidence in addition to workplace skills.
“Pre-ETS provides many learning opportunities for my high school students,” she said. “During Job Shadowing work-based learning, they learn about different jobs within our community and get to try out some of those jobs. It helps build confidence in them and they learn skills needed for employment. Job Olympics gives my students a chance to show off what they are learning in their functional program. They compete against other schools with programs similar to ours.”
Pre-Employment Transition Services are provided to students through the University of Missouri-Columbia and a partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation. Pre-ETS are available at no-cost to Missouri high school students with disabilities in the following 5 service areas: Job Exploration; Workplace Readiness; Work-Based Learning; Self-Advocacy; Post-Secondary Counseling. Students participate in job shadows, career/interest inventories, the Job Olympics, and meaningful hands-on learning opportunities to help students develop and achieve goals. Through early intervention and collaboration, Pre-ETS support students and their families during the transition process to help students develop positive post-secondary outcomes
Learn more about Pre-ETS at https://education.missouri.edu/outreach/pre-employment-transition-services/.
