SWBOCES students get real-world experience at The Knolls

Upon arriving to the Careers Campus on a recent Friday, a half-dozen or so iCTE students boarded a bus for The Knolls, a residential continuum of care facility next door where they went to work in the kitchen.

They knew what they were there to do and went right to work, preparing food and doing other tasks at the supervision of Chef Rona Leake.

“They’re eager to learn and they have no problem helping out,” Chef Leake said. “If you give them something to do, they ask to do more.”

The students were here as participants in the Workplace Initiative Program, which seeks to place Career Services students with disabilities in real-world work environments. The idea is to allow them to apply the training and education they receive at Southern Westchester in the very settings where they’ll seek employment after graduation. 

Counselor Laurie Aufiero said this business-led transition program has been a vision of her and her colleagues for five years. They have wanted to create internship opportunities for iCTE students. The pandemic set back their timetable, but now they are excited to be collaborating with community partners like The Knolls to place students from two of the seven iCTE programs, Culinary Arts and Office Skills. The immersive program launched in March.

​​The iCTE program serves students with special education needs by providing training and opportunities to explore a range of fields.

Students learn about employability and job skills such as communication, teamwork, listening and following directions while participating in various worksite rotations. SWBOCES job coaches provide individualized job development based on the student’s experiences, strengths and skills. Students are given support with accommodations, adaptations and on the job adaptations.

One of the goals is for students to learn how to work independently, to take initiative and think creatively about their work. Those are things that community partners have told Ms. Aufiero and her colleagues that they value in the SWBOCES graduates they hire.

“Hopefully this will lead to employment opportunities,” she said.

On this recent morning, student Phil Schultz, who is from Harrison, prepared yogurt and granola parfaits. He said he was very happy to be here. He has learned how important it is to be positive and to be punctual. His goal is to work in the kitchen of a restaurant. “It motivates me to get the job I want,” he said.

Another student, Julian, who attends the SWBOCES program at Irvington High School, wants to be a chef. “I would love to work in a hospital as a chef,” he said, acknowledging the experience he’s getting here that will help toward that goal. “I actually get to experience working in a kitchen full of people.”

“I think it’s a nice collaboration with all of our staff,” said The Knolls Director Michael Dobbins. He noted that the residents have enjoyed interacting with the BOCES students on occasion.

Chef Leake is a former BOCES student herself, so she felt inspired to give something back, particularly because she has raised a child with special needs herself.

She plans a May 28 luncheon for the program participants to thank them. “I love it,” she said. “They’re very good.”