After graduating this spring from Oakridge High School in Muskegon, Louis Boucher is on the hunt.
“I’m looking for another job, working at a store or wherever I can find one,” says the 20-year-old.
But his goals lie far beyond working at a store. After working as a youth ranger at Muskegon and Hoffmaster state parks this summer, Boucher feels the pull of the outdoors. He was such a diligent worker -- repainting picnic tables, clearing brush from trails, filling potholes -- that park rangers asked him to apply for a summer job next year.
Boucher was one of 144 students with disabilities in Michigan who benefited this year from a partnership between the Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Division (DNR-PRD), Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS), and a host of educational partners, including intermediate school districts (ISDs), regional educational service agencies (RESAs), and local educational agencies (LEAs).
The program gives students a chance to explore their interests and postsecondary options through an eight-week paid position.
Programs like the partnership between DNR-PRD and MRS are crucial for students with disabilities who are transitioning out of high school, says Maria Peak, who coordinates the Michigan Transition Outcomes Project (MI-TOP). MI-TOP supports ISD transition coordinators who help choose students for the summer program and monitor their progress.
“We know that work-based learning prior to leaving school produces positive post-school outcomes,” says Peak. “The more we can get students involved in work experiences while they’re still in the school system, the more likely they are to be working after school. That’s why this is so important.”
The program began almost a decade ago when the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District approached Tim Schreiner, a DNR-PRD supervisor, about providing a potential work site for students with disabilities.
Schreiner enthusiastically hopped on board, says Bill Colombo, an MRS consultant. As a parent of a child with a disability, says Colombo, Schreiner was a natural champion.
MRS joined the partnership that first year and helped offer the program at a few park sites near the Traverse City area. Last year, the program expanded to 14 park sites around the state. It went so well that the program added 10 additional park sites this year, offering work to students from 16 districts.
Each spring, transition coordinators work with MRS counselors to select and interview students who might benefit from the program. After students are chosen and begin working, the transition coordinator and counselor check in to see how the job is going.
This was Muskegon ISD’s first year participating in the program, says Transition Coordinator Shannon DeLora, and eight students applied. After asking the students to submit an application and letter of interest, DeLora and two MRS counselors interviewed the students to give them a typical job application process experience. All eight students were hired.
During the program, students in the Muskegon area performed tasks such as painting buildings, shoveling sand off of walkways, cleaning trails and fire pits, and testing the water.
“They were able to get a really good sampling of what a park ranger would do,” says DeLora.
Students particularly enjoyed patching holes in park roads, says Mick Homan, an instructional assistant at Muskegon ISD who worked as a job coach during the program.
“They call it ‘soft patch,’ where they take the hot tar and put it on one of the trailers,” he says. “Every time there was a hole, students would take a shovel load, put it down, flatten it out. They had a really fun time doing that.”
For most students in the program, this is their first paid work opportunity, says DeLora. But beyond the thrill of getting that first paycheck, students also get a crash course in working outdoors. Some students, like Boucher, realize it’s their dream job. Others find themselves dreaming of a different job.
“We had one student who found out he didn’t like working outside,” says DeLora. “[MRS is] now working with him to find out what he enjoys and where they could support him.”
Students not only receive individualized mentoring from job coaches during the experience, but junior-level students also get a chance to connect with MRS before heading into their senior year. This enables MRS counselors to get a head start on finding a good fit for each student’s career path.
A crucial component of the process is the job coach, says Colombo.
“The job coach is the key person,” says Colombo. “It takes a certain skill set to do it. You need to know when to step in and when to stand back, and when to capitalize on learning opportunities.”
Coaches like Homan worked at each park site, helping to guide students while they worked. Most job coaches are hired through each educational partner because they already have experience working with students who have disabilities.
Homan says he was proud of Boucher and another student who were invited to apply for a summer job again next year.
The students were so dedicated -- no one missed a day of work -- that park staff members were sad to see them go.
“The greatest thing is that the students were the first ones there every single day,” says DeLora. “Even the main park ranger said, ‘They’re always here when I get here.’ They were just excited to start work.”
This article originally appeared in the Michigan Department of Education Forward Focus.