Pine Bluff joins $10 million STAR grant to expand transition-to-work services for students with disabilities

At a Pine Bluff School District board meeting, University of Arkansas professor Dr. Shana Raley and local educators outlined a five-year, $10,000,000 Seamless Transition to Arkansas (STAR) grant aimed at improving employment outcomes for youth with disabilities.

The STAR project will establish a community-based Pine Bluff Career Council to coordinate work-based learning, identify local resources and connect students to employers. "The very first one is to enhance work based opportunities for youth with disabilities," Dr. Raley said, adding that the number-one predictor of post‑school employment is if a student has a job while in high school.

Board members were shown a transition flowchart and a digital resource map created by the STAR team. The flowchart maps steps from career orientation through transition four courses that focus on workplace skills, independent living and college or vocational planning. A district career coach asked local employers to volunteer opportunities and urged the board and community to share more resource listings so the map can be expanded.

"This course helps students to understand their own strengths, their own needs, their interests, and their preference," said Virginia Humphrey Gully, a teacher in the district's structured learning environment, describing how transition classes guide students through Individualized Education Program (IEP) participation and job-readiness skills.

Career coach Davisha Evans told the board that some students already have on‑ and off‑campus jobs and that the program is working to add more employer partners. "We are willing. We are ready to match up with them," Evans said.

The STAR partnership named state agencies and local partners as collaborators in Pine Bluff's work, including the Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, Sources for Independent Living and the University of Arkansas.

Why it matters: the grant funds local coordination between schools, state agencies and employers to increase the likelihood that students with disabilities secure paid work after high school. The board was asked to note the council's kickoff, review the digital mapping tool and support outreach to employers.

Presenters requested feedback and additional resource suggestions to improve the public resource map and said the career council will meet in district facilities to plan next steps.

Next steps noted at the meeting include continued employer outreach, community mapping updates and regular reports to the board on placements and program development.