Our transition and career training programs are extensive, and include Career Classes, Internships, Structured Learning Experiences (SLEs), Community Based Instruction (CBI), and Job Placements in the Community.
At New Road Schools we are especially proud of our focus on preparing our students for real life - for the responsibilities, community involvement, and practical issues they'll encounter as adults.
For specific information on transition and career training programs at our individual schools, please visit the Career Education and Transition pages for each.
While specific work and career training activities are available to older students, we start transition preparation as early as the third grade. Teachers and therapists in lower grades begin by helping students increase their capacities for work by improving speed and accuracy with specific tasks, increasing time on task, and learning how to manage frustration and build resilience. In addition to their cognitive and intellectual development, attention is also given to the student's physical, sensory, kinetic, and emotional approach to school work. As students mature, we encourage them to be more self-reliant.
Each of our schools operates a "Micro-community" that provides hands on in-school training and experience in life and work skills. New Road Square in Parlin, New Road Boardwalk in Ocean, and Main Street at New Road School Somerset, serve as "town centers" for each school, with mini-stores, service and work opportunities, and social and public spaces where students can practice independent living and work skills, as they prepare for more focused and intensive community-based instruction and job experiences.
Student interests are gauged through the use of interest inventories, which help guide them towards coursework and career preparation that is most stimulating to them and best suits their aptitudes and strengths.
In addition to their preparation in classroom academics, our younger students begin learning about appropriate dress and grooming, time management, social skills, appropriate communication and self-advocacy. As they get older, they learn to assume many of the responsibilities they will need in the workplace and life, including the need to:
- Perform job responsibilities;
- Comply with expectations for job performance and social interactions;
- Communicate needs and suggest support strategies;
- Follow-through on commitments;
- Adhere to workplace guidelines and procedures;
- Show respect and be responsible;
- Learn as much as possible about the work environment and the job; and
- Reflect on the experience and work towards developing their career goals.
By the time our students reach formal transition age, they are well-prepared to take advantage of our wide array of formal transition opportunities, explore individual interests, and build upon their natural talents.
As they do, we give students just the right amount of independence and exposure to new experiences and interaction with the wider community, while providing the supports they need to feel secure and confident, and to succeed.
We aim to make the transition from school to adult life exciting and stress free for the student and his or her family by providing effective preparation, experience, and connections in the community they need to succeed.
New Road Schools enjoy a remarkable range and number of partnerships with businesses and organizations in their local communities. These relationships provide us with the ability to offer transition and career training options - both in school and in the community - that suit every student.