A Rural Work Experience Model that Works: Lessons from the Real World

Transition education for students with disabilities means different things to different educators based upon the communities in which they reside. Thus, teachers often bring pre-conceived notions to the school setting about what constitutes an effective school-to-work program. The Skills Training Program described in this article takes site-based work experiences to the rural communities in which students live and builds a bridge between school and the job site. Special educators from rural and remote school districts in eastern Oregon surveyed local employers and designed a model to implement a work experience program for students with disabilities in an area with limited employment resources. This article describes the organizational process of this tri-county work experience model and reports on the outcome of enhancing associated work skills.