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Overview
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EMPLOYABILITY DIPLOMA OVERVIEW
Florence District One created the Employability Diploma program in 1999. This program was designed for self-contained special needs students. The district includes three high schools, which offer the Employability Diploma program. It includes, but is not limited to students with learning disabilities, mental disabilities, orthopedic disabilities, emotional disabilities, hearing impairments and other health impairments. The Employability Diploma program enables those students who were not able to earn a state high school diploma the opportunity to earn a district diploma. This diploma will designate special needs students who have attended school and worked hard to earn the district diploma. Those students who do not meet the district requirements for the employability diploma will be eligible to receive the state certificate of attendance. The purpose of this program is to self-contained students who currently receive an attendance certificate the incentive to come to school, to work when in school and to remain in school.
This
diploma has been modeled after the requirements of the state high school diploma.
Students will take academic classes taught by special needs teachers. Students
will be required to earn the following units:
4 units of English
4 units of Math
3 units of Science
3 units of Social Studies
6 units of occupational education
1 unit of Physical education (taught in the regular ed program)
3 units of electives
With the development of the above classes students follow a class schedule
similar to those students in the regular education program. Students change
classes each block and usually have different teachers for each block. Also
with the development of the program students now have a limited number of
free periods for elective classes of their choice. Therefore, students will
be in classes that are of interest to them and be more successful. Electives
taught by special needs teachers are also available for students to take.
Special occupational classes have been developed and are taught at the Florence Career Center. Students from the three high schools attend the Career Center. Students are bused from West Florence HS and Wilson HS. Students from South Florence HS walk to the adjourning Career Center campus. In the ninth grade all students take the employability skills class and employability skills lab. In the tenth grade students choose one of the following classes horticulture I, work skills development or pre-work transition. In the eleventh grade students can take the first year of an occupational specific course, horticulture II or school factory. Those students taking school factory will also take driver safety and knowledge and parenting or pre-ged. In the twelfth grade students take either the second year of the occupational specific course or work transition.
Any regular education class taken and passed may be substituted for a self-contained academic class of a similar nature. Thus allowing for students to take the highest-level class possible. However, academic/occupational classes taught within the employability diploma program cannot count as a unit in the regular educational program toward the state high school diploma. Third and fourth year students can substitute an occupational specific course (i.e. Auto body) if it is an anticipated career choice. This will replace school factory and work transition.
Attendance requirements for passing and failing will be the same as in the regular educational program. Students are also required to do community based training (CBT) during high school. In their freshman year students may do a maximum of ten hours of in house CBT. In their sophomore year students will do their CBT in small groups supervised by a transition assistant. These training opportunities will be with community agencies and local stores. In their junior years students will also do small group community based training supervised by a transition assistant. Student interests and preferences will determine these group assignments. In their senior year students will participate in CBT, which has minimal supervision. The transition assistant takes the students on an individual bases and drop them off. At the end of the day the transition assistant picks students up and returns them to their schools. Students are also required to have one hundred hours of paid employment from the completion of their junior year and graduation.
Parents have the option to place their students in the Employability Diploma program. However, if a student is not participating in the diploma he will still participate in employability classes. Students in the diploma program will be promoted based on diploma requirements. To be promoted from ninth grade to tenth grade students must earn a minimum of five credits. Those must include an English and math unit. To be promoted to the eleventh grade students must have a minimum of ten credits. This must include two English, two math, one science, one social studies and four others. To be promoted to the twelfth grade a student must have a minimum of sixteen units and be able to graduate at the end of the year. Those students not enrolled in the diploma program, continuing, as certificate students will be promoted based on IEP progression.
Students must attend class to be promoted. They
must be able to meet the attendance requirements of the state.Students who
were in high school self contained classes prior to the start of the Employability
Diploma program were given an option to go back and earn the diploma. Students
were not given credit for time in special education classes prior to the start
of the program in 1999. Students transfering into the district will be given
credit for classes if the district they attended previously had an alternative
diploma program that they were participating in. Courses that do not fit our
program will count as an elective.
