Life skills are essential for every pre-teen and teen. However, life skills are vital for students with unique needs. They are the difference between them being prepared or unprepared for adulthood.

Did you know that young adults and adults with disabilities only make up about 38% of all employees in the U.S. as of 2023? [https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/research-evaluation/statistics]

It is clear that students with disabilities and unique needs require a different approach.

That's where our one-on-one Life Skills coaching class comes in to fill the gaps our youth experience with disabilities and unique needs in higher education, career pathways, and daily independent living skills.

__________

Students in our 1:1 Life Skills Coaching Class will take 3 different interests and skills assessments to determine their current interests, strengths, and needs in their education, careers, and their independent living skills. 

After students take their interests and skills assessments, they will receive individualized coaching to teach them life skills in the areas of:

-Independent Living (e.g. opening up bank accounts, budgeting, time management, housing, etc.)

-Post-Secondary Education (e.g. high school selection, college/university preparation, necessary entrance exams, technical schools)

-Employment Education (e.g. applying to jobs, benefits, advocacy at the workplace, career options, etc.)

_______

This ongoing class implements transformational coaching to encourage and equip students with disabilities and unique needs with skills necessary to navigate early adulthood. This class is 30 minutes in order to keep the attention span of middle and high school students, and to provide life-changing coaching. 

The class pacing will consist of:

(5 minutes) Greeting & Clock-In: The teacher will check-in with students to see how their day went at school, home, and within the community to gauge the student's self-awareness skills.

(5 minutes) Accountability Update: The teacher and students will collaborate to complete assessments for post-secondary education options, employment options, and independent living skills strengths and needs. After the completion of these assessments, the teacher and students will discuss the results of the assessments. The teacher will assist students with creating and monitoring their goals aligned with their assessment results. The teacher will support students with accountability measures for reaching their goals.

(5 minutes) Mini-Lesson: The teacher will teach students about life skills such as: budgeting, grocery shopping, navigating public transportation, housing options, understanding insurances, applying to jobs, healthy practices on social media during job hunting process, interviewing skills, college/university options, and more. The teacher will align these lessons to the students' interests, strengths, and needs identified in their assessments. Students will interact with the lesson through videos, viewing data sources, slides, and discussion. 

(10 minutes) Collaborative Work Session: Students will work with the teacher to complete assignments related to their goals and the mini-lesson. The work sessions will consist of completing mock interviews, filling out job, school, and financial aid applications, making budgets for household expenses, researching housing options, etc. Students will use these work sessions to build their life skills.

(5 minutes) Closing & Clock-Out: The teacher will lead students in a reflection process of their learning during each lesson. The teacher will ask students what they want to accomplish during the next class in order for the student's voice and choice to be included within his/her/their next lesson. The teacher will summarize the learning for students.

_________

Class Schedule

Each week, students will work on individualized support on a variety of issues which may include: opening up bank accounts, making budgets, homework organization, applying for college, completing job applications, understanding rental leases, time management, interviewing skills, apprenticeships, etc.