Moscow district details growth of Vandal QUEST inclusive post‑secondary program

The Moscow School District on July 23 updated the board on Vandal QUEST, an inclusive post‑secondary education program that places 18‑ to 21‑year‑old students on the University of Idaho campus to work on employment, independent living and some academics.

Special Education Director (staff member) told the board, “I wanted to use the bulk of my time just giving you an update on Vandal Quest, and refamiliarizing you with that program.” The director said QUEST stands for Quality University Experiences to Support Transition and that the district’s students are dual‑enrolled as Moscow high school students and University of Idaho students.

The nut graf: the district described QUEST as a transition program focused on independence and employment skills, run in partnership with the University of Idaho, and reported measurable gains in academics, peer mentoring and campus involvement that district staff say make the program more sustainable.

According to the district presentation, Vandal QUEST began the previous year with 10 students, dropped to 6 in the spring semester and is expected to enroll nine students this fall. Program staff said nine is a typical semester‑to‑semester fluctuation because students “age out” at 21. The district reported that eight of nine students passed at least one academic class in the most recent period when iFit (self‑paced PE) courses are excluded.

District staff outlined staffing changes: the district said it returned to four full‑time speech‑language pathologists after a multi‑year staffing shortage and that one open special‑education teacher position at the high school and one language support specialist position remained to be hired. Staff also noted they received a $4,400 mini‑grant to update two commonly used evaluation tools.

The board heard about a statewide grant called “Eclipse,” described by district staff as a multimillion‑dollar U.S. Department of Education project meant to develop competitive, integrated employment placements for students with disabilities; University of Idaho, Boise State University and Lewis‑Clark State are participating. The district said the U of I hired a competitive integrated employment specialist in January (named in the presentation as Bethany) to place and support students at worksites and to supervise peer mentors.

Program details presented to the board included: an approved University of Idaho certificate (Career and Community Studies) that QUEST students can earn; expanded student work hours (staff said students collectively worked 29 hours in a reporting period and the program goal is up to 20 hours per student per week); and peer‑mentor participation that the district reported as 18 mentors in fall and 15 in spring.

District staff described experiential activities — a reverse career fair, campus events, river rafting and participation in homecoming and graduation events — as part of the program’s efforts to integrate students in campus life. Staff also said they are formalizing an advisory board to meet three times a year and are working with the university to clarify peer‑mentor roles and to allow students to audit classes where appropriate.

The presentation included implementation goals such as expanding the school day from five toward six hours, strengthening student‑led Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, and securing a larger campus meeting room.

District staff asked the board for continued support of the MOU with the University of Idaho and said they expect the partnership to grow. No formal board action was taken; this item was presented as a year‑end update.