Our program provides the student with the experience of job sampling within the school setting. The student’s time at work is recorded and his or her job performance is evaluated. This work experience helps the students to develop the work and social skills that are necessary prior to their placement at a SLE site in the local community.

The Gateway School Students are given the opportunity to have several structured learning experiences at local participating business that has agreed to partner with us. Our staff works closely with the personnel of each business prior to and during the SLE. An Employment Specialist from our staff accompanies each student to the community site to assist them in performing their required tasks and also to ensure appropriate interaction with co-workers and supervisors.

The students gain community-based work experience at the following types of work sites:

• Offices
• Retail Stores
• Chain Stores
• Restaurants
• Libraries

The school staff is committed to assisting students in acquiring the skills that will enable them to live independently, be actively involved in their communities and to acquire the appropriate supports that they need to be successful.

Program Goals:

• To assist students in becoming knowledgeable about their strengths, interests and needs in order to help make them contributing members at home, at school and in the community.
• To assist students and their families in their efforts in achieving employment, post-secondary, vocational and recreational goals upon graduation
• To assist students and their families through the transition process and connect them with adult services such as DDD, DVRS, SS, Performcare and Medicare prior to graduation.
• To help students and their families navigate the Human Services system to get much needed services (respite, behavior management etc.)

Community-Based Vocational Training WorksitesAs the students begin to age towards adulthood, the focus of the program tilts toward Transition and preparing students for leaving school and entering the world of the adult services. Being that New Jersey is an Employment First state we work closely with parents, Case Managers from the sending districts, and students themselves to seriously consider the world of work. In order to better emphasize this aspect of The Gateway School curriculum, lessons revolve around job exploration and preparation, vocational readiness, and the “soft” skills our students need to demonstrate in order to be successful in real work environments. To get our adolescents and young adults ready, we begin to take students out of the confines of the classroom and school building to experience community-based job sampling around the Carteret community. This school year we have identified five (5) different work environments that we are utilizing to teach our high school students real work skills and work-related behaviors. These include the following locations:

• The Borough of Carteret – this job site might specifically have our students’ job sampling in several different work settings around the borough, i.e., the Carteret Town Hall, the Tax Assessors office, etc.
• The local ShopRite located at 801 Roosevelt Avenue in Carteret. At this site students will be assisting in various capacities primarily in the Bakery Department preparing baked goods to be put on the shelves, and stocking produce.
• The local Walgreen’s located at 833 Roosevelt Avenue in Carteret where they will be helping to stock the empty shelves cleaning and customer service.
• The local RWJ Rahway Fitness & Wellness Center located at 60 Cooke Avenue in Carteret. At this fitness center and pool, Gateway students are involved in doing several jobs including cleaning and mailings.
• The Carteret Public Library located at 100 Cooke Avenue here in the borough is our last work site. Students come here to learn cleaning activities, as well as sorting and cataloging books and DVDs.

Students are transported to the community-based work sites and taught by staff members who have specific training in Job Coaching such as Noemi Candia. Staff is working under the leadership and supervision of our Transition Specialist and SLE Coordinator, Patricia Gutowski.

In order to provide students with Related Services within natural contexts, our preferred instructional methodology, at times the Speech Therapist or Occupational Therapist might go with the Job Coach to implement practical and relevant sessions right at the work site.