Welcome to Pre-Vocational Training

Welcome to Ms. Giedemann's website!

I have been with Philadelphia Academy Charter School since 2008! I am teaching the Pre-Vocational Training program for the life skills department. This course will include classroom instruction, class trips to local buisnesses, shopping, eating out, traveling within the community, and career resource center help (with career portfolios, skills/interests/abilities, and job preferences). Students will work primarily on employability, independent living and social skills within the course curriculum.

Contact Information



The Prevocational Training suite is a functional based work system, which promotes

life long educational and social goals of the students we serve. This highly

structured space is modeled after the evidence based practices of Applied Behavior

Analysis . There are numerous functional applications of reading, math, language,

communication and social skills. The room is divided into 10 domains. They are as

follows: Literacy, Math, Laundry, Banking and Budgeting, Processing and

Production, Retail, Personal Hygiene, Office/ Clerical, Custodial Skills and Food

Services. The students are provided with individual work schedules upon entrance

into the room. They are then expected to follow multiple step instructions to

complete a work task independently. The students are assessed based upon their

performance, accuracy, speed and endurance. The data collected is utilized to

determine strengths and weaknesses as the students prepare for employment. The

students also participate in community-based instruction as they travel to local

stores for shopping. They also participate in cooking lessons.

The students will also participate in the following activities;

• Travel training

• Community based workplace tours

• Local shopping trips

• In school work experiences

Each student will create a career portfolio binder, which will be sent home for you

to view weekly. This binder will provide you with a glimpse into their performance

through work samples and pictures. We hope this will be a valuable tool as the

students prepare for the workforce.

As always we are always seeking contacts of places to tour or possibly volunteer. If

you or someone you know can help, please provide us with the contact information.