Jobs in Vocational Education (JIVE)

The JIVE program resulted from Rockingham County Public School’s (RCPS) desire to find community short-term assessment sites for students with disabilities and James Madison University’s Special Education Department’s desire to place teachers in training as job coaches in real work situations. The purpose of the JIVE Program is to create a secondary transition education program where RCPS students with disabilities are provided with a variety of situational assessments enhancing their ability to make choices, and develop independence, educational, career and interpersonal skills. JIVE also provides an authentic learning and teaching environment for JMU graduate students preparing to work in the field of special education and related services as they assess RCPS students on the JMU campus. In addition, this program helps the JMU community better understand and appreciate persons with disabilities.

Goals

• Enhance JMU/RCPS/VDOE TTAC partnership.

• Create a collaborative program between a four-year institution and a public school that provides situational assessment sites for high school students with disabilities.

• Provide a vocational/transition experience for JMU pre-service teachers.

• Provide community-based work assessment experiences for high school students with disabilities who have completed school-based work-study programs.

• Provide high school students with disabilities opportunities for short-term situational job assessment.

Benefits for JIVE Students

• Receive job assessment and work place exposure beneficial to decision making about future employment in a community environment.

• Enhance social and interpersonal skills through interaction with college students.

• Increase abilities to function independently in work, community, and social environments.

Benefits for Rockingham County Public Schools

• Provides situational assessments for high school students with disabilities.

• Provides a scope and sequence for gaining multiple vocational experiences in preparation for competitive employment.

• Provides an unbiased assessment from external evaluators.

Criteria for Participation

• Student wishing to participate in JIVE should:

  • be between the ages of 16 and 22

  • have an IEP with goals and curriculum focused on functional living/life skills

  • have participated successfully in a school based work/study program

  • have successfully completed prevocational classroom instruction to include social skills, work ethics, behavior and related work skills