Many teachers view job shadowing as an important experience for any person considering a job, and Gibson Southern’s life skills students are getting a head start on this experience.
The school uses a “School to Work” life skills programming. This program collaborates with different local businesses to provide unpaid positions for those in the life skills classroom.
“Students are currently placed at R’z Cafe, Holiday Foods and Little Miracles,” life skills teacher Tiffany Absher said. “At R’z students have an opportunity to roll silverware, clean menus and wipe down tables. Holiday Foods provide opportunities such as conditioning shelves, stocking and pulling expired items. At Little Miracles, students help prepare snacks, help clean up after activities and work with children of all ages.“
This is the first time job shadowing has been available for the life skills students. The goal for the class is to continue the program in future years and expand it to more local businesses, according to life skills aide Alex Hirsch. This will make the students more prepared for jobs and help them have a diverse set of skills, which can lead to real job opportunities for them.
“In the past, I have had students be offered paid job opportunities through their work in this program,” Absher said. “Ultimately, my goal is for students to work in a variety of settings in order to gain job-related skills that they can use in future employment.”
According to Hirsch, the students love going out to the job sites every week. The Holiday Foods students go on Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Another group goes to R’z cafe on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The third group of students goes to Little Miracles on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
“Aubrie and Meredith both are extremely excited to go to work,” Hirsch said. “They both know several kids and teachers at the daycare. The kids at Little Miracles also look forward to seeing the girls.”
According to Hirsch, they get to help with activities, like dancing, singing, dressing up, building with blocks or magnetic tiles and playing with Play-Doh.
Meredith Spear goes to Little Miracles with Aubrie Ziliak once a week to work. She has loved working there, saying her favorite thing to do is to work with the Pre-K kids.
“As a parent, I love that she is getting this experience outside the classroom,” Meredith Spear’s mother, Robin Spear, said. “We get to see what she is capable of and if this is something she could do as a job after graduation.”
