I teach vocational skills and job training to 18-22 year old students with disabilities. This is the first year for our program. We work on community service, cooking, self-care, and job skills. Our goal is for our students to be employed and/or volunteer in the community by graduation.
The Peoria Adult Transition Academy (PAT) consists of 28 students with disabilities from across the city of Peoria.
These students are between the ages of 18 and 22 and have completed four years of high school. We have students with developmental delays, physical disabilities, hearing impairments, visual impairments, emotional disorders, and autism. Even with all of their barriers to learning, our students are excited about learning and are eager to attend school daily. They are most excited about learning new job skills and being employed. We are a unique learning academy in central Illinois. In our first year, we have had visitors come from several surrounding area schools to see our students transitioning from school life to adult life. We continue to strive in making our program adult oriented within the public school system.
My Project
I am requesting assistance in providing adult, ergonomically correct seating and work stations. My current classroom has furniture from a variety of sources. Our biggest issue is that our students are of adult age and are adult sized. The traditional desks and tables used in other settings do not fit most of my students. Tables must be extended to the maximum height, making them unstable and sometimes still too small. Having lower ball chairs to fit several of our current tables would allow for alternative and adult oriented seating options. As students are working on job boxes, they need an individual space, and having standing work stations would allow for independent work. Additionally, the timers would be used to help students self-monitor time on a given task. We complete job boxes and work in groups at our tables daily. These resources would be constantly used by all of my students, allowing for several types of alternative seating depending on the activity and the student
The functional adult furniture assists in not only productivity but also general attitude.
Squeezing your knees under short tables or worrying that your chair may break are only distractions to learning. Having the new materials would allow students a variety of options, accommodate fidgeting, and improve productivity. I want my students to feel that they are special and worthy of having a productive and beautiful work space that was designed for adults, not children. One size does not fit all.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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