Community Advisory Committee 
for Special Education

Vocational Education:  Building Bridges to Employment

(September 2002)

Although most parents are focused on helping their student complete their current homework assign-ment or pass the next test, there are a group of individuals in PAUSD who are focusing on more distant goals. These far-thinking people work in the Vocational Education department. They are helping special education students prepare for the future with programs that provide work readiness, job place-ment, career planning, and applied academic options in the following ways.

Regional Occupational Program (ROP)

When most of us think of vocational education classes we think of wood shop and typing. Today the Regional Occupational Program provides career preparation and skill training needed to compete in a technical job market. Classes at the high schools include Engineering Technology, Biotechnology, Computer Information Technology, and Web Page Design. In addition to ROP classes, the high schools offer other voc ed classes like Sports Medicine, Business Law, and of course, Foods and Auto Tech.

Work Experience

Work Experience combines classroom instruction and part-time student employment. Juniors and seniors are eligible if employed a minimum of 10 hours per week. Students work in local businesses in a variety of jobs that range from entry-level retail positions to working in the lab of the Solar and Astrophysics department of Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center. Exploratory Exper- ience is an unpaid off-campus course that provides students with an opportunity to explore their specific career interests by direct observation and hands-on experience.

Transition Partnership Program (TPP)

The Transition Partnership Program is available for students with disabilities. The goal of TPP is to connect students with disabilities to the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) and assist with their transition to work. This may include direct job development, vocational training, or post-secondary education. Students can receive help finding a job, get a job coach to help them learn the job, get adaptive devices when required, even get help with college tuition.

Other Programs

Several programs are available to our students outside of PAUSD. Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW) is a private, non-profit job-training center where students can take after-school
classes. PAUSD students can receive up to 10 credits for classes taken there. The Foothill Transition Program (FTP) at Foothill College serves students with disabilities who have completed their fourth year of high school. FTP's goal is to get students with disabilities actively involved in a college atmosphere and to prepare them for independent living by the age of twenty-two.

To learn more about vocational education in PAUSD, check out their website at www.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us/studentservices. 

If you have a student who might be interested in one of the programs mentioned here, contact Marion Krause at 856-0910. Or ask that someone from the Voc Ed department attend your child's IEP.