The Path to Independence

The Life Skills Transition program, now in its sixth year, fulfills the promise of reaching a student’s potential after high school graduation. Created to ensure these young adults move into adulthood with confidence and improved independence.

This independence is centered around achieving sustainable work experiences, independent life skills and fulfilling social activity in the community.  

This new program ended up not only attracting students from Madonna’s own high school, but students from the greater Omaha area. A few of these students heard word of the exciting life and job skills being taught at “Madonna U” and inquired.

The program includes job site experience, community outings and because some students are also interested in pursuing a college career, extended academics.

Adjusting from the individualized type of learning that occurs at Madonna School, where the student to teacher ratio is quite small, to a college setting required some preparation and decision.

Metropolitan Community College proved to be the best place for students to commence their studies. In the beginning, a teacher sits alongside the transition student. The Madonna accompaniment helps to translate the exact requirements for daily coursework and teacher lectures. With a direct link to the coursework, the teacher then acts as tutor for these students. This individualized help allowed for the students to feel comfortable with the new requirements of college learning.

 Two transition students enrolled at Metro, Jason and Sarah, have built for themselves a path of new independence. In fact, both have already begun taking classes without the accompaniment of a teacher. 

Jason utilizes online learning to complete his second composition class and Sarah received an A in her evening sign language class. 

Jason plans to transfer his credits to UNO and begin studying for a degree in wildlife biology. Jason's mother says that this “is an ambitious goal, and it may take a long time for Jason to reach it. But it has been made possible by the caring and dedicated professionals in the Madonna Transition Program, whose skill, patience, and guidance have brought out the best in an indomitable young man with a disability by which he refuses to be defined.”

Another Madonna freshman, Ron, is pursuing the path that his senior classmates have paved. Ron is currently finishing the second of three classes at Metro that he will be able to take during the 2012-2013 school year. 

Undoubtedly, these are some of the many future successes to come for the Madonna transition students.

 

 

 

 

This post was shared © Darian Stout