Helping Students with Disabilities Look to the Future

College of Education Partnership Fosters Workplace Readiness Skills, Confidence and Community
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The 91大神 College of Education鈥檚 Postsecondary Transition and Equity Lab (PTEL) partnered with the DC Special Education Cooperative鈥檚  to offer a six-week workplace readiness summer program for D.C. high school students with disabilities. 

From June 23 to August 1, close to 25 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans gained hands-on experiences and skill-building opportunities to help prepare them for life after high school. Through a codesigned curriculum, developed in collaboration with the DC3C team and PTEL faculty and students, students explored employment pathways, earned a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification and received valuable insight and advice from local entrepreneurs, including barbershop and nail salon owners, firefighters and STEM entrepreneurs.

鈥淔or students with disabilities, future planning hasn鈥檛 always been intentionally integrated into their school experience,鈥 said Sehrish Shikarpurya, assistant professor of special education and director of PTEL. 鈥淭his program shows them what that looks like鈥揾ow to set goals, engage in community-driven opportunities and build career awareness. Through this program, we鈥檙e here to help them develop self-determination skills that prepare them for their future.鈥

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The summer program concluded with a weeklong cooking experience, where students learned how to shop for groceries, plan healthy meals and prepare a four-course dinner. This experience integrated practical skills such as budgeting, interpersonal communication, traveling and teamwork, while also reinforcing self-advocacy and independence.

In addition to codesigning and codelivering instruction, Shikarpurya and her team cocreated quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate student progress. Using pre- and post-program surveys, they measured gains in students鈥 self-determination and confidence. Preliminary findings suggest meaningful improvements, specifically in the areas of capacity building and their perspectives related to achieving their desired postsecondary goals. However, the researchers also noted the need for more culturally responsive evaluation tools within the field of postsecondary transition that reflect the lived realities of Black and brown students. 

鈥淢any of the participants are students of color who face significant barriers, including food insecurity and family incarceration. Planning for the future is not on their radar because they鈥檙e focused on surviving, and yet they typically receive the least amount of support for the future.  Programs like this not only provide valuable life skills but they offer a sense of belonging and possibility,鈥 explained Shikarpurya. 

Shikarpurya鈥檚 team includes Daija Waugh, a doctoral candidate specializing in special education and juvenile justice; Ruhma Raza, PTEL lab manager; and Aprille Tejada 鈥26, a psychology major. They partnered with DC3C鈥檚 Erika Thomas, director of workforce readiness; David W. Fridie, program manager; and Cotora Holland, program manager.

PTEL鈥檚 research-practice partnership with the DC Special Education Cooperative will continue over the next three years, expanding during the academic year with two charter schools and through future summer programs. Additionally, the DC Special Education Cooperative and PTEL will codesign and implement a postsecondary transition curriculum, alongside evaluating the long-term impacts of evidence-based transition preparation for ninth through 12th grade students with IEPs and 504 plans in Washington, D.C.鈥檚 charter schools. 

鈥淧artnerships are not always easy to find, but when they come together, the difference in student outcomes is powerful,鈥 said Thomas. 鈥淲e are truly grateful to 91大神 and PTEL for their commitment to collaboration and for joining us in this important work and for creating opportunities that change students鈥 futures.鈥