Mahomet-Seymour highlights Compass/Atlas vocational, apprenticeship and transition work

Marissa Hill, a Compass/Atlas program teacher and presenter, told the Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3 Board of Education that the district's Compass and Atlas programs emphasize age-appropriate independent-living skills and a gradual increase in vocational expectations as students progress through the district.

The presentation, given during the board's public meeting, explained that Compass focuses on foundational routines and functional academics at elementary levels while Atlas — the district's post‑secondary transition program — concentrates on work skills, apprenticeships and community placements. Hill said the program team deliberately sequences skills so students build on prior learning at each building.

Board members heard details from teachers representing multiple buildings. At the elementary level, teachers described daily visual schedules, token boards and choice boards used to teach routines and attention skills. At the junior high level, presenters said students begin community-based activities such as a coffee cart, message delivery and field trips to practice navigation, social interaction and basic money skills. At the high school level, staff described increased focus on transition planning in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), classroom jobs, microbusinesses (a long-running snack cart and a Bulldog Bakery) and community apprenticeships intended to lead to paid employment.

Marissa Hill and other presenters described an apprenticeship arranged with Candlewood Suites through local workforce partners. A teacher said the student works as a laundry assistant and that, after a full year of the program, the student will receive a Department of Labor certification tied to the apprenticeship. Hill and a presenter identified Taylor Black at WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs) and the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) as partners in creating the apprenticeship pathway.

Teachers also described the district's Bulldog Buddy program, a peer-mentoring model that pairs general-education students with Compass/Atlas students through a selective application and interview process. Presenters said Bulldog Buddy participation is high and that it supports students' social integration across buildings.

Audience members, including a caregiver who identified themselves as a parent/guardian, praised the programs and asked procedural questions about numbers of students served and application processes for apprenticeships. Board members asked how many students participate; presenters gave building-level counts during the discussion (speakers referenced figures such as roughly 22 districtwide, 11 at one program and smaller counts at others). Presenters also confirmed that some community placements are unpaid trainings or volunteer experiences initially, with students receiving stipends through DRS in some cases while employers determine whether to hire students full time.

Why it matters: the presentation outlines how the district is linking special-education transition services to local employers and state workforce supports to create credentials and work experience for students as they age out of school programs. Board members and the district staff framed these efforts as part of transition planning required under IEP law and as a pathway to adult employment for students with disabilities.

Program staff asked board members whether they had questions; the board thanked presenters and recognized the program's use of internal staff, the district's special-education team and external partners to expand post‑school options for students.

Sources and provenance: the account is based on a public presentation to the Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3 Board of Education during the recorded board meeting; the program presentation spans the transcript segments starting with the board's building spotlight introduction of the Compass/Atlas program and running through the Q&A with board members and attendees.