hello and welcome to another episode of despite that challenge is a show where we showcase ability of people who despite their impeding circumstances and challenges not only they overcome but they go out in the community and do amazing things but essentially i had an opportunity to visit a local school in our area new old school of so much so that it was such a heartwarming experience to see young men and women boys and girls for the special needs to learn approaching their adulthood learning life skills doing the amazing things and so proud it was such an outstanding experiences and i wanted to share their story quote quincy jones when he did we had a world put a sign on the door and said you leave your egos at the door that's how our school operates you know everybody's a team and what that does that helps the kids who come in which are  kids that we care people who have gone to different schools before and did not make it ok so they found our school they'll come to our school the first thing we need to do is get them to trust us because  really add still that i think the biggest challenge for us is treating each student as an individual and giving them their opportunity to achieve success because past experiences that's why they're with us whether it's for educational reasons or they're just having some emotional and social issues we've created a nurturing environment but at the same time there is a very strong base of accountability because when you leave your program when you go to the outside go to the workplace nobody sees your disability so you need to be able to perform to the best of your ability absolutely  building confidence and competence through personal large construction what i'm doing tours i tell school districts don't like what i do it i said the difference between us in public school you go into a classroom everybody gets the same were perfectly fine and had car accident and i have to really learn the skills of walking in communicating to the best of the ability all over again we have students with you know some of them have some behavior emotional assessment so they're learning at the same time as working with the students and so far the thirty years it's been successful successful and it was such a heartwarming experience to see this young boys and girls such disciplined in their actual environment and interacting with each other it's and being in the classrooms you're learning skills so let's talk about a little bit about time the public schools are still trying to see where the issues are they're still trying to work and maintain them in their own public school setting ok but the parents and i think the child study teams also they notice when a kid is struggling i'm sometimes parents have to advocate and be a little bit stronger because it's their child but we have really good working relationships with the child study teams so once a student on a district sends us records we do an intake of our program  set careful to make sure we know the student has a chance of being successful because as they don't students don't have time to waste their education is still twenty one years of age ok so we have a very small window of opportunity to educate and prepare them whether it's further education whether it's work experience so we really have to stay on top of our responsibilities to them so let's let's talk about that a bit for every career ok the bigger older students are doing in the building we replicate replicate all of the different stores and places businesses that work we have our own nursery yes we have students to come twice a week with that they're sort of fight teacher and they work with them with the students and then all the other places the jobs that they're given everybody that comes to school has cavity where students learn skills and kitchen you how so those low pretty basic skills so we can say that what really struck me was the pharmacy wh a certificate of completion ok you can take that through pharmacy or pharmacy will bring you in as a mentor you have to take the state test to be able to actually work in reforms to measure up to medications and he did studio yes yes so what a culture so stern and so we have higher capabilities on the one that have those opportunities where they have the cognitive capability and it may only be one two three four students but i will get it that any student who finds an interest and wants to move forward in that area we're going to push them as far as they can go and then there's other programs that students may not have that academic then once we feel we have a student who's marketable mr schneider will contact the neighborhood shop right where that student comes from and he will see if he can find employment and that women for them so that is such an outstanding way to make this special meaning to young men and women to feel proud let's talk about their sense of pride especially for the families do you know to have their putting together napkins with all the silverware and everything couldn't do it the first couple times after was told to do it did six in a row and then ten in a row and now she could do just like anybody else in the kitchen and the smile on her face was amazing graduation but he did get a job in the shop right now he comes to business school he wants to tell everybody what's going on so and usually we have graduation ceremony we bring back the former students i see to tell what they're doing so i'm sure that this experience itself of them do feel like when they go home the can mingle with the brothers and sisters and other i think it starts off though we really created a high school environment so when they go home and they talk to their friends who may be going to their district high school well we have lockers we change classes we have these kind of events we have a school newspaper so there are all those similarities that create a common bond but it's their school it's their school you know i actually think they need our kids will see paper on the floor and pick it up yes there are bathrooms are really clean i have to be honest with you and i and you know the respect the students give to each other and there's no picking on each other or anything like that everyone gets along and it's just so much respect for each other so it's a part of the fostering culture within and i think you'll iowa to the teachers  know once a year but yes a sixty seventy kids and they're now like some of them are really age they're in their thirty's you know and we're getting the one the twenty twenty one year olds who have graduated and we're getting our thirty thirty one thirty two year olds coming back going back when employed they may not have a full time jobs but they're had they have one or two part time jobs they've got a driver's license when we never thought they could they're going to could school they're taking two or three college courses it may not have been the time frame that we think a college kid goes at eighteen to twenty two now adults to go to college at fifty and sixty five but our kids are now participating in that process too and it said their speed the happens to be one of our former students and started talking to us students all right in person giving to a wanted him to talk to them he's been employed there he worked five days a week there where the students were all like if you can do it i can do it although plus the part of the player said that was tough times so there would be times like that and now the kids see what he's doing you know you know this isn't the same person this is a person proud of what he's doing and i think another great story is we have a talent show every year some of them are talented and some of them are not quite as talented but our kids sit there they applaud they clap they they holler and it's just it gives you such a good feeling or to see kids who would never say more than three words get up and sing a song and know really have a great voice so when you see those moments we have a problem at the end of every school year and we had a young lady who if she lasted an hour message to our audience at the school what the school has done for these families what that ought to be one minute it's a connection and when they come to different events they meet other parents in the same shoes having similar we have to wait to go it's ok but i have to say it's really you know we can sit here we have different responsibilities but we have a really good staff and if you don't have a good team backing up none of this happens so you know we have staff to stay after school they come back they you know have a lot of patients for some of the kids to sign every day is a perfect day you know you may not see anything happening but we always know what's behind the scenes and you know there's home that they're able to find out and share it with you know who is the most appropriate to help them take care of a problem ok and not all the kids are very verbal so sometimes you know until you get to know him well enough are you able to figure out the situation are what the issue is or they open up you know or you know and sometimes we sometimes have bus issues that are on the bus a long time and they'll come off and they pout and you know and so you figure out what what really happened that was the dynamics and who did what  the teachers have a world of patience we have great counselors that work with the teachers and work with the students for those who are seeking out more education down the road we have a social worker who really focuses on whether it's college or a helping student kind of building you know but the ship with them based on where they open up and feel trust right and there's a sense of trust that comes in what are other challenges as food as could be finding the right talent what makes our school special i think is our transition program for the eighteen to twenty one year old ok when you think about a public high school after eighteen is nothing for them i want school for eighteen to twenty one we send them out to job sites and everything we go to teacher recommendation and what the parents and students are interested in trying to find work sites for them to go off campus with a job coach ok work at their practice here is to try different things job sampling to find what you want ok what you're good at people meeting people we were able to make a connection with video production per pack and so it was a little while to get it all pulled together and you know you have it right when the person who's interning of it all right so i mean for us especially to see that kids grow especially children grow all feel so good to become capable of taking kill themselves absolutely you know and having this opportunity to go through this educational and what i may use the word my bookcase a little training on site while they're learning so this is such an a absolutely they're given they are not hey check they have bills to pay they're still working on their literature skills because as an adult it's great to be able to pick up the newspaper or know how to read a t v schedule or the bus ride the bus transportation schedule  so the more things you do the more opportunity they have to be successful so we're just trying to prepare them so when they actually graduate they feel good and ready for their next challenge they're constantly working on job there's a whole formally this will go up bulletin board that has requests for drop change ok you have to write down to real concerns why and why you don't want to go ok it's brought up and we usually we usually insist that the students stay at a new job site for one moment right just so that they're not because they're scared of the job or something sure it would take them three or four times going to decide whether i wanted or not i said so it's just a kind of a silly made into that environment the actual enlargement so what would be a message to the community if i may say what would you like viewers to know about your school well that we have students who can meet your needs in the community whether it's business the business is we have students who can do those jobs right you give them a chance give them a test and we will present our website your website contact information if they want to take a tour and you do have some companies in new york that will do come visit schools and i think if a prospective employer is interested they can contact schedule they we've given tours to companies they come for lunch who really value what we do for our students so we have a follow up show that we will show you this young man and woman actually being in the classrooms and being trained in the hands on training and how disciplined they are so i hope that you will find that sure was amazing to see how these children are basking they expect ation of their parents and