Grant will help kids overcome disabilities

The St. Mary Parish School System’s Special Education Department received a grant from the Louisiana Department of Education aimed for creating or enhancing career preparation opportunities for students with disabilities.
St. Mary Parish’s grant for the current school year is $64,500. It will be used solely for the Jump Start program.
“Our special education department, under Ms. Debra McClarity, did an excellent job of writing for a couple of grants to help us with that transition into the Jump Start program,” said St. Mary Parish Schools Superintendent Leonard Armato. “The Jump Start program gives our kids, our special education kids especially, an opportunity to be successful as they move forward in their career.”
St. Mary Parish Schools Supervisor of Secondary Education Peter Boudreaux also worked on the grant application with McClarity.
Louisiana’s Jump Start program is a new model for career and technical education. It requires students to attain a widely recognized and valued industry credential in order to graduate from high school.
“Jump Start is fairly new,” said McClarity, the St. Mary Parish Schools supervisor of special education. “We are moving into the second year of really getting it in districts across the state.
“We have to do a better job in St. Mary Parish providing our kids what they need. We’re headed to the right path thanks to our new superintendent, Lenny Armato.
“He’s guiding us into making those decisions for our children here in St. Mary Parish.”
Six high schools will benefit from the grant.
“It’ll help us give more kids an opportunity to succeed in the pathways and more resources for us to develop pathways to give our kids more opportunity to be successful,” said St. Mary Parish Schools Supervisor of Secondary Education Peter Boudreaux.
District supervisors of special education and secondary education plan to purchase research curriculum to help students and any equipment needed to help students with disabilities receive training for certification, if possible.
In addition, money will be used to train and certify teachers for specific pathway certifications.
“If a child is in the fashion design pathway, we may need to purchase a piece of equipment to help the child be able to sew or requiring a special chair,” Boudreaux said. “Or if a student is in the culinary pathway, it might be a special piece of equipment needed in order for the child to be successful in the program.”
The school system currently partners with local businesses to provide practical experience for students in Jump Start.
“We do have existing partnerships with some local businesses where students go out on community base,” McClarity said. “That’s hands-on workplace experience for students with disabilities.
“It’s in line with adhering to Jump Start guidelines.”
State grant recipients approved for funding include 55 districts, 10 charter schools, and the Louisiana Schools for the Deaf and Visually Impaired.
The amount awarded to each district or charter organization was based on the quality of the application and number of students with disabilities impacted by the funds. Operation of funding will last through September 2016.
The total grand fund statewide is $4 million.
“These grants will allow districts and charter schools to better maximize the educational experience for students with disabilities, offering them an increased opportunity at success after high school with a diploma,” said state Superintendent John White in a news release.
“It is expected that this will further the progress made with ensuring all students can pursue a high school diploma that prepares them for meaningful post-secondary experiences.”
I’m hoping that the programs we put in place will see success,” McClarity said. “My ultimate goal is to see those kids get a diploma of their choice.
“Our focus is to make sure each kid gets their free public education and diploma, so they can be successful people in society.”
“We are working together with regular education and special education putting things together where both departments can be successful through the Jumpstart program,” Armato said.
“Hopefully, we can help all kids not just a select group of kids because all kids need that extra push,” McClarity said.