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Career Center

The Career Center is to empower deaf students and adults to plan for their future, to give active learning and hands on experience to learn about themselves, their interests and their goals. It also emphasizes the positive attributes and skills each student possesses so the student develops a positive self-esteem regarding his/her ability to work successfully. The purpose of the Career Center is to provide knowledge to the students of telephone etiquette, TTY skills using the relay system, job interviewing, application forms, and obtaining a job. Students will illustrate the ability to know where to go for job leads, self awareness, and work experience and why people work, planning and coordinating field trips, interpreting and using a sign language interpreter, problem solving during job interviewing, and anything else deemed appropriate.

Senior Portfolio

Each student is required to complete a Senior Portfolio. The purpose of a portfolio is to document academic skills, teamwork skills, and personal management skills, work experience, outside activities, certificates, and awards. The Senior Portfolio will focus on specific needs of a deaf student, which includes audiology reports, disability information, and resources available for the deaf. Each student is allotted time during seminar to work on their portfolio. A student’s biography is integrated into their English class. Electronic portfolios are encouraged, but not required.

Application Training

Activities in the Application Training classes include field trips to places of employment or agencies that provide employment for the deaf. Students will learn how to obtain an application, proper application vocabulary, and on-line application skills. All students will have “hands on” experience with a variety of application forms.

Interviewing Skills

The students are pre-tested and post-tested to demonstrate proficiency in interviewing for a job and using an interpreter during the interview. Interviewing includes, but is not limited to, dress code, interviewing vocabulary, and a heavy emphasis is placed on the learning of appropriate job etiquette, employer and employee responsibilities. All seniors will experience a mock interview.

Middle School Career Fair

Students will learn the Six Career Paths. There is a guest speaker for each career path, where students have the opportunity to ask questions. These questions can include their job title, work schedule, job duties/responsibilities, work environment and/or conditions, education and/or training required, wages, salary, benefits, dress code, supervised or independent work, pace of work, physical ability, etc. Middle School students are encouraged to take ownership of the career fair.

Vocation Observation (Life Skills Students)

Each life skill student enrolled in Career Training I-IV will have a vocational observation. This includes a work evaluation quarterly with feedback from their employer. The observation can be vital in the appropriate employment or workshop environment. The vocation observation is used for placement with Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which is a government agency that gives the students a paid employment opportunity.

Job Coaching

Job Coaching is provided to students in the Career Training III and IV class. Students have a 1-on-1 job coach for one week (some students require additional time). Job coaching for employers includes providing information about deaf culture, how to successfully communicate, interpreting needs and/or interpreting agencies, safety issues, basic survival sign language work skills, etc. Job coaching for employees/students includes training for the specific job that is required of them, learning ways to communicate with their hearing co-workers, to answer all questions, inform them of their rights as an employee, human resources where available, safety issues, etc.

Work Habits and Behaviors

Students will show an understanding of the following work behaviors: accepting criticism, body language, tact, finishing work, co-worker relationships, problem solving, honesty, attendance, following directions, mature work behavior, and developing efficient communication skills. Students demonstrate an understanding of benefits (sick leave, vacation leave, paid holidays, health insurance, etc.). They also learn how to write a letter of resignation and how to properly give two weeks notice when leaving a job.