A pair of teachers from Fox and Hillsboro high schools have started a job-skill event for their students who have developmental disabilities, and they plan to include all Jefferson County schools in the future.
Sarah Shackelford, a post-secondary transition specialist at Fox High, and Tory Ellis, a Community Based Vocational Instruction (CBVI) teacher at Hillsboro High, organized the first Jefferson County Job Olympics on March 26 at the Fox C-6 Service Center in Arnold.
The event provided a chance for 10 Fox High students and two Hillsboro High students to practice writing a resume, interviewing for a job and performing a job skill.
The students were scored on their performance, and at the end of the Job Olympics, they received either a bronze, silver or gold medal based on their score.
“The goal for our students is to gain skills for competitive wage employment,” Shackelford said. “We believe they have the ability to enter the workforce. They are able to do any job that anyone else is able to do, but maybe, they need a little support.”
The event was modeled after the Job Olympics held in Farmington.
Ellis said her students participated in the last two Farmington events, and Shackelford had four students participate in it this past fall.
“It shows the kids they can do these things without constant teacher support,” Ellis said. “They have to fill out the application. They have to answer the interview questions on their own. They have to do the job skills on their own. I am not in there helping them.
“I think when they earn that medal, whether it is a bronze, silver or gold, they have a sense of pride. It is, ‘You got this. You earned that.’”
The teachers said they started the Job Olympics with only their students to make sure it was successful. They said they plan to invite students from Seckman High, which also is part of the Fox C-6 School District with Fox High, and the De Soto School District’s high school next year.
Ellis said they would like to add more high schools every year until all Jefferson County school districts are part of the event.
“If it gets too large, we will do a northern and southern Jefferson County Job Olympics,” she said.
Job Olympics
Students were separated into three category levels for the judged job tasks.
Shackelford said the pre-basic level task was sweeping. The basic level task was busing and setting a table. The advanced level offered three task options of either providing change after taking a payment, hanging clothes on a rack or stocking a grocery shelf.
Ellis said students had a set time to complete the tasks, and judges scored the students based on performance and how efficiently the task was completed.
Students also were scored on how they filled out a resume or job application and how they performed during the interview.
“There are different markers the kids have to meet,” Ellis said. “They are scored hard. These are skills that you have to present that you know how to do. There is a high expectation.”
Fox High’s Alyssa Rios, 20, of Arnold said she enjoyed the Job Olympics because it provided an opportunity to learn what type of job she may enjoy doing in the future.
“It helps me learn what to do when I am ready to get a job,” she said. “I want to be a soccer coach. I want to teach people how to play soccer.”
Shackelford said students practice the different skills they performed during the Job Olympics throughout the school year.
She said it helps to put the students in an environment where they are doing the tasks with someone with whom they are unfamiliar. She said administrators from both high schools and students from different Fox High organizations, such as DECA, National Honor Society and photography classes, volunteered to help during the event.
“It is to continue to up their game and give them more practice,” she said.
Shackelford said one of the key components she wanted students to practice was advocating for themselves during the interview process.
“Employers are not allowed to ask you about your disability or an accommodation you may need to do the job,” she said. “The kids have really practiced advocating for what they need. I think that is valuable in these practice opportunities because they can learn about the supports that they may need in a job, and they talk about them during the interview.”
Additional offerings
The Job Olympics included more than the scoring activities.
Representatives from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Pre-Transition Employment Services (Pre-TES) program were at the event. The representatives set up a virtual reality station that allowed students to select a job activity and experience what it is like to work in that profession.
“There is every job you can think of on there,” said Shoney Williams, a pre-TES specialist. “It helps (students) determine what kind of career they may be interested in after high school.”
Fox High junior Sabrina Sachs, 18, who lives in the Fenton area, said she worked in road construction when she used the simulator.
She was tasked with having materials placed at the job site and had virtual experiences using some tools.
“It was kind of nerve-racking,” Sachs said. “It was like, ‘Wow, how is this possible?’ It made you feel like you were going into that world and working in that career.”
Another station had a rack of clothes that students used to dress a mannequin.
“They go through a rack and decide what is professional or unprofessional,” Shackelford said. “The judges decide who had the best dressed mannequin, and that student won a $10 QuickTrip gift card.”
There also was a photo booth, where students selected props to represent a career they are interested in pursuing, and there were a few tables where students played games, such as vocational bingo, as they waited their turn to participate in the judged application, interview and skill portion of the Job Olympics.
“We have a lot of downtime activities,” Ellis said.
Sachs said it felt great to practice the skills she has been learning.
“It was fun,” she said. “We will actually have to do those things one day.”