ACT Program

BY TERESA COWAN

Principal, Academy for Community Transition (ACT)

Springtime is full of excitement for high school seniors as they decide their next steps towards independence. For some, that might look like going to a trade school, attending a four-year college program, or even taking a gap year. Other students with developmental disabilities might need a bit more training and support and will choose to attend the Academy for Community Transition (ACT) in the Issaquah School District.

What is the ACT?

For approximately 33 years, the Academy for Community Transition (ACT) has had dedicated staff who have helped young, differently-abled adults connect with community-based employment experiences and fine-tune social, vocational and life skills. Located behind Gibson Ek High School and Clark Elementary School, the program serves about 40 students between the ages of 18-21 years old. Depending on the time of day, students could be learning about vocational opportunities, practicing functional math skills, or participating in social clubs.

First-year students at ACT spend part of the dayworking on in-house internships and vocational skills. For instance, students might be building mason beehives for Woodinville’s Crown Bees company (www.crownbees.com), filling dog treat bags for pet stores, labeling boxes, stuffing mailers, or assembling care packages for the homeless. The tasks are developed to assess interests, skills, and work stamina.

In their second and third year, ACT students are typically out in the community honing valuable vocational skills. Pre-pandemic, our partners included Party @ Display and Costume, Coal Creek YMCA, Sammamish YMCA, Swedish Hospital, Fieldstone Memory Care, Mud Bay, Mudhouse Pottery, Museo Art Academy, the Issaquah Library, iHop, Revolve Clothing, Lucky You, Together Made, Kimberland Collars and REI, to name a few. These partners worked with ACT staff to develop meaningful internship opportunities for our students.

ACT During the Pandemic

Of course, the pandemic stopped all off-campus internships from March 2020 through August 2021. Ever focused on maintaining as close to a real vocational experience as possible, staff at ACT pivoted to create more in-house internship experiences. For instance, students continued to practice folding/sizing/hanging clothes to prepare to resume internships in clothing retail. To keep their skills honed for working at grocery stores, students practiced stocking shelves and ringing up items in the on-campus ACT Store. The muchcoveted internships at Swedish Hospital’s Café 1910, at Fieldstone Memory Care and at the YMCA were paused, so students practiced folding towels, refilling salt/pepper shakers, sorting, and restocking items and setting tables. Students remained everready to jump back into off-campus work as soon as the virus was contained.

In September 2021, the program faced another year of uncertainty with regards to internships. Determined to maintain past relationships with community partners while also keeping everyone as safe as possible, the program decided to look internally for more opportunities. Whether delivering coffee orders, selling snacks at CAFE ACT, helping with mail delivery, supporting teachers in the ECE program or librarians at elementary schools, ACT students stayed busy and focused.

While everyone is looking forward to reconnecting with past internship partners and developing new opportunities, this year has allowed students to highlight their abilities across the school district. To see these young adults working with confidence, maturity and skill is a panacea to a school system that has mostly been stretched to the brink over the pandemic.

In addition to our partners within the school district, we are grateful for new collaboration this year with the Sammamish Animal Sanctuary, Fortunato Chocolate, The Garage and Starbucks.

Every young adult deserves an opportunity to gain vocational skills and find meaningful work in their community. They deserve to wake up every morning with purpose and the knowledge that they make a difference and that someone is counting on them. If your business would like to create an inclusive work environment that includes differently-abled adults, please reach out to discuss potential opportunities to collaborate with the ACT program in the Issaquah School District.

cowant@issaquah.wednet.edu 425-837-6397