JACKSON - Jackson-Madison County General Hospital kicked off a new program, Project SEARCH, in June. Project SEARCH is a worldwide high school transition program that is a unique, business-led, one-year, school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and relevant job-skills training through strategically designed internships. The program is a collaboration including Jackson-Madison County General Hospital as the host business, Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS), The STAR Center, and TN Vocational Rehabilitation.
Project SEARCH serves students with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. Typically, these are students who are on an Individual Education Program (IEP) and in their last year of high school eligibility. Twelve students from JMCSS have been accepted for the inaugural year. They will rotate through three ten-week internships within different departments at the hospital.
The goal for each student participant is competitive employment. The Project SEARCH model involves an extensive period of training and career exploration, innovative adaptations, long-term job coaching, and continuous feedback from teachers, job coaches, and employers. Melissa Whitaker, JMCSS Special Education teacher, will be on site for classroom instruction each day. In addition, the students will have two job-coaches who will assist in training and daily management.
As a result, at the completion of the training program, students with significant intellectual disabilities are employed in nontraditional, complex and rewarding jobs. The presence of a Project SEARCH High School Transition Program can bring about long-term changes in business culture that have far-reaching positive effects on attitudes about hiring people with disabilities and the range of jobs in which they can be successful. For more information about the program, contact Katie Chandler at 731-693-1400.
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