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Roanoke City Public Schools showcases Life program giving 18–22-year-old students disability-focused workplace training
Summary
Roanoke City Public Schools staff and students described the "Life" program, which pairs morning life-skills classes with 3.5 hours of on-the-job training at school sites and community partners including CVS. Presenters invited more employer partners and provided a phone contact for follow-up.
Roanoke City Public Schools staff and student participants described the district’s Life program, which provides morning life-skills instruction and afternoon on-the-job training for postgraduate students aged 18 to 22 with disabilities. "These students are 18 to 22 and they have disabilities," said S. Hudson, a staff member with Roanoke City Public Schools.
The program pairs one hour of classroom work — covering budgeting, resume writing and other life skills — with about three and a half hours of supervised work training each afternoon, district staff said. "They are working at the CEC and then our IT department," a staff member said, describing school-based placements.
Staff praised the students’ attitudes and reliability. "They are just such a joy to work with," one staff member said, adding that students arrive eager to help and are given new assignments each day. District staff described tasks that range from cleaning and organizing rooms to watering plants and reorganizing a resource room and food pantry.
Students who spoke about their experiences emphasized practical skills and confidence-building. One participant said, "The life program helped me to be more confident in my future," while others said they enjoy tasks such as cleaning, organizing and scanning.
Staff also described measurable skill gains: students who previously did not use spreadsheets have set up their own Excel files and now assist with inventory scanning. "When they came in, they did not know about Excel spreadsheets. Now they set up their own," a staff member said.
The district has placed several students at CVS stores in front-of-house roles — stocking shelves, helping customers and returning items to the proper areas — and staff said they are eager to expand partnerships with local employers. "We're excited to work with more business partners," a staff presenter said, adding that additional community opportunities would help the program grow.
At the end of the presentation, S. Hudson invited potential partners to get in touch and provided a phone number for follow-up. The phone number given in the transcript was (304) 893-7823; the email address was spoken but appeared garbled in the audio transcription.
