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| Donna Sirimarco (right), department chair of the Special Education Department at McLane High School in Fresno, talks with students Austrianna McCarty (far left) and Emely Penaloza. |
Last year, Austrianna McCarty and Emely Penaloza were seniors attending Special Day Class (SDC) at McLane High School in Fresno. Unlike their peers in special education throughout the state, they were not stressing out because they hadn’t passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) by the end of the school year and wouldn’t earn a diploma. That’s because they had earned an “alternative” certificate to a traditional diploma, which verifies they are employable.
The two, in fact, were issued a “Certificate of Competency.”
Special education instructors in Fresno were instrumental in helping to create the unusual option years ago when it became clear that students would probably not be exempted from having to pass the exit exam. Issued through the district’s School to Employment Pathways (STEPs) program, the certificate is only recognized in the community of Fresno by local businesses.
Donna Sirimarco, department chair of the Special Education Department at McLane High School, says that the program was developed because CAHSEE was supposed to go into effect by 2004, and teachers worried that special education students might drop out if they were denied a diploma. After just a few years, she says, the program has already reduced the dropout rate.
“We have noticed that we’re keeping kids,” says Sirimarco, who helped create and revise the program. “And we are preparing them for life after high school. Our program prepares students for the world of work, community college, or a combination of the two.”
STEPs, in place at high schools throughout the district, is a comprehensive, four-year, 230-credit program that requires students to take four years of English, three years of math, two years of physical education, two years of science (earth science and biology), two years of social science, and four STEPs classes including: personal management A and B, career exploration, and career preparation. Students must also participate in a formal vocational assessment process and engage in “work experience” off campus for 15 credits per semester in their senior year.
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| Student Scott Robertson. |
The STEPs classes are part of the SDC program, and students take general education electives. Academic classes may be SDC or general education according to each student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). Students considered capable of passing the exit exam and passing general education algebra are moved into a resource program where the majority of their classes are with the general education population.
Although STEPs is designed for special education students unlikely to pass the exit exam, participants must still take the exam, and must pass all their regular classes to earn the certificate. Some of the program’s students are issued a “Certificate of Competency” in lieu of a diploma; others receive the certificate in addition to their diploma.
“When we started the program, we researched what kinds of skills were needed by Fresno employers,” says Sirimarco, a member of the Fresno Teachers Association (FTA). “Employers said they wanted people with a good work ethic, good manners, and people who knew how to get along with others on the job, among other things.”
Several local employers in Fresno — including Holiday Inn Express, Horizon Health and Caltrans — have endorsed the district’s STEPs program and have agreed to accept the Certificate of Competency in lieu of a diploma for entry level jobs.
STEPs students become job-ready by building an “employment portfolio” that includes a job application, resume, letter of application and competency checklist. They must also receive at least three letters of recommendation from their employer describing their off-campus work experience.
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| STEPs and special day class teacher Paul Woodard at Bullard High School in Fresno. |
McCarty’s work stint was spent in the kitchen of the local Veterans Administration Hospital, and it worked out so well that she was promised a job after leaving high school.
“What I learned most from this program is to finish what you start and to always do your best,” she says. “And it helps when teachers talk about your ability rather than your disability.”
STEPs teacher and special day class teacher Paul Woodard at Bullard High School in Fresno says the certificate has helped several of his higher-functioning students find jobs upon leaving high school. Some of his former students include a gardener, a butcher, a firefighter and an employee for the City of Fresno.
“I think the STEPs certificate gives them a little bit of pride,” says the FTA member. “It’s something they’ve earned beyond a certificate of completion. It shows prospective employers what they can do.”
“We learned about communication,” says Bullard student Ben Hooker, 16. “I learned that you have to look people in the eye when you talk to them.”
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| Bobby Joe Stewart, a member of the Campbell High School Teachers Association, discusses community concerns with students. |
“We also learned about hygiene,” says Janee Brown, 15, of the program. “You want to take care of yourself, brush your teeth and smell good.”
In San Jose, teachers at Leigh High School were so impressed with the STEPs program in Fresno that they worked to create their own version for special education students.
“We have an Educational Achievement Certificate for those students who can do everything but pass algebra and the CAHSEE,” says special day class teacher Bobby Joe Stewart. “We want them to get a diploma and are always shooting for that. But when it gets down to the last six weeks of school and they haven’t passed the exit exam, we want them to have something to take with them. This certificate is an in-between something that students can take with them when they leave here.”
Last year, her class had nine seniors. By August, only two of them had passed the exit exam.
“Our kids who haven’t passed the CAHSEE still walked across the stage, and nobody knew whether they were getting a certificate or a diploma as they shook hands and walked through,” she says.
During the last week of school Stewart was jotting down students’ phone numbers so she could notify them during the summer whether they had passed the exit exam test administered in May.
“If you were to meet my students on the street, you wouldn’t say they are learning disabled,” says Stewart, a member of the Campbell High School Teachers Association. “You wouldn’t notice right off the bat. Most of our kids can hold down jobs and can function. I know for a fact they can go to community college work in the service industry, become office assistants or enter the culinary field. They are very hands-on.”
Denying them diplomas and making it nearly impossible for them to be hired for entry-level jobs will create more problems than it will solve, adds Stewart.
“Yes, they struggle. Yes, they have special needs. But they can still be successful.”
