There are 3 high schools involved in this program. Students come from 5 suburbs of Chicago and an un-incorporated section of the city. These communities include people from all social-economic classes. Other areas of primary diagnosis include deaf or hard of hearing, visual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury and Prader Willie. In addition to their daily school classes, students come to Connecting Activities for vocational training.
Some students participate in the program over summer vacation from school.
The Connecting Activities program consists of five steps which begin with students of the ages 13 - 14. Students participate in the program throughout their high school years and into job placement or post-secondary education. The class covers subjects such as job applications and job performance expectations. Students might work at community jobs in addition to taking these classes. Community job trials - Students work in jobs that match their interests and receive a grade for their work which is based upon employer evaluations.