KPBSD NEWS RELEASE

Project SEARCH open house is November 27, 2012

Soldotna, November 15, 2012—Imagine what can happen if a school district and hospital collaborate to create a business-led, one-year, school-to-work program for students with disabilities that takes place entirely at the workplace…
Join KPBSD and Central Peninsula Hospital on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, for the first annual open house to introduce you to the new Project SEARCH High School Transition Program. Dr. Atwater, KPBSD superintendent said, “One of our on-going challenges is to ensure that our students with disabilities make a smooth transition to life after high school. Project SEARCH is thus, a wonderful way to help us meet this challenge. I am thrilled that our partnership with Central Peninsula Hospital is working so well for our students.”

Project SEARCH Open House

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Denali Room at Central Peninsula Hospital, Soldotna, Alaska

Families, educators, partner organizations, local businesses and
interested community members are invited

Meet student interns who will showcase their learning from their respective internship rotations. Ms. Erin Riehle, co-founder and senior director of Project SEARCH will be the guest speaker. Riehle is a recognized authority and national leader in promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Rick Davis, Central Peninsula Hospital CEO said, “We are very pleased to participate as a business partner in the Project SEARCH program. These students are learning to perform basic job requirements such as coming to work on time, being neatly dressed, and coming to work with a positive attitude. The program is designed to help prepare these students to enter the job market as good employees that will add value to an organization in the future.”
The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a total workplace immersion, facilitating a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and relevant job-skills training through strategically designed internships. Through a series of three targeted internships the students acquire competitive, marketable, and transferable skills to enable them to apply for a related position. Students also build communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills which is important to their overall development as a young worker. The goal: independent adults prepared for competitive employment opportunities.
Kenai Peninsula Project SEARCH is made possible through the collaborative efforts of Project SEARCH Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Central Peninsula Hospital, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Frontier Community Services.

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