• Students age 18-21 are provided the unique opportunity of specialized education based on a university campus. The goal is for each student to become a productive, contributing member of society, and their home at their highest level of independence.

• Incoming students for fall are invited the May prior for a Transition Day on campus.  They are placed in groups among our current students and then rotate through informal mini- assessment stations of reading, math, personal information/handwriting, fine motor skills/following directions, apartment, and mobility.  Staff uses these assessments to group students appropriately for the upcoming year. Students also eat at the student union and take a tour of the campus.

•  Functional academic classes are taught by our staff.  These include reading, math, current events, behavioral health, budgeting, health, physical education, keyboarding, creative writing, and job readiness.

•  Students are taught independent living skills once a week at our off-campus apartment. Instruction includes operating large and small appliances; doing laundry, identifying and using correct cleaning products for particular needs; cooking a meal 2x/month which entails making a shopping list, comparative pricing, shopping for items, preparing the meal and cleaning up afterwards; how to change sheets, fold, and hang clothes; and household safety to name a few.  This is a very community-based day as students frequent the local library, grocery store, and bank.

• Students are taught mobility using public transportation.  They ride PAT busses and the T to get to off-campus job sites, as well as navigating city streets by walking.  Aside from the site specific mobility training as the students get to and from their various job sites, they participate in applied mobility training which entails a full day of using public transportation and navigating communities once a month. Reading bus schedules, using the Connect Card, appropriate social skills, identifying landmarks, and knowing when to exit the bus are all key components addressed.

• Vocational training continues from our high school curriculum to our post-secondary program.  The focus remains on teaching students all skills that will help them attain and retain employment after completing our program.  Developing a work ethic, punctuality, productivity, endurance, problem-solving, self-motivation, time management, and social skills are priorities.

• On and off-campus vocational training sites are offered to all students.  Students have approximately 2-5 job sites per week for the school year.  Site-specific goals are tracked and progress reports are completed for each job site 3x/year.

• Duquesne work study students are integral to the success of our post-secondary program.  We interview and accept approximately 20 work study students each year to assist us throughout the week.  These young adults serve as peer mentors, friends, role-models, and job coaches.  They attend an orientation at the beginning of each year by our post-secondary supervisor to learn specifics about our population and effective strategies we utilize. 

• Work-study students assist staff in taking students to off-campus job sites, the apartment, and support classes.  They also eat lunch with our students at the student union adding to the campus inclusion.  Work study students also independently take students to on-campus work sites.

• In addition to the vocational progress reports, each student has an IEP that gets coded twice a year for progress monitoring.

• Our post-secondary program proudly boasts many collaborations in various departments on campus. Students from different majors complete their service learning with us regularly, including the OT, Speech, and Music department. We are a clinical rotation for the School of Nursing, as well as a field placement for the Dept. of Education. Our students participate in many grant projects through different departments. The campus police assist us daily with arrival and dismissal of busses, as well as give us a yearly tour of their station.

• Students participate in mock interviews and write a resume each year in preparation for attaining employment upon graduation.  We also are a liaison for families and OVR to help get their cases opened and the process started.

• We hold a graduation ceremony for all students completing our program, and their families, highlighted by each graduate giving a speech.

For more information or to schedule a tour and interview, please call Lisa Hendrickson at 724-940-9020 X109 or email at [email protected]