Transitions: Life After High School
(adapted from an article by Deanna Mascle, Jessamine County Journal, Nov. 2, 1995)
Seven Jessamine County High School students are getting to enjoy a taste of college life through a special program at Asbury College!
Most students graduate from high school by age 18 and leave school to enjoy a number of pursuits, from college to work. Students receiving special education services, however, do not always enjoy these options because they often stay in school until the age of 21. For students with disabilities, it can be very difficult to see friends graduate and go on, while they continue to go to high school for up to seven years!
Because of an innovative program recently initiated between the Jessamine County Public Schools and Asbury College, students with moderate and severe disabilities, ages 18-21, now attend classes and activities at the college, while still receiving overall supervision, individualized community-based training and vocational instruction through the school system. The seven Jessamine County students receive a student activity card like all other Asbury students, and are allowed to audit college classes.
The biggest benefit that the teachers see for the students is the ability to participate in extracurricular activities and make new friends. The students can attend concerts and games, and can work out in the Luce Center with the other Asbury students. College courses that the Jessamine County students are auditing include weight training, adaptive physical education, art classes(sculpture, theater, photography, and music), and family studies.
In turn, Asbury students have an opportunity to learn about the unique needs of students with disabilities their own age, and most importantly, to learn that enduring friendships can transcend labels!
The college provides office space to the school staff associated with the program, and instructional and general operating expenses are covered by district special education funds. The college also provides the student activity cards and the opportunity to audit classes at no charge. This innovative program provides one model of how a school system and an institution of higher learning can work together to enrich the learning experiences of a community's young adults, including those young people who previously had always been excluded from the benefits of those experiences.
