Life Skills Program

20% of students in the Syracuse City School District receive Special Education services. For many of these students there are few opportunities to learn important skills to help them succeed after leaving high school. Classes, tutors and teachers prepare the students academically but what about learning to manage their money? Making a budget?  Finding out what it takes to succeed at a job interview? What types of employment are out there? Future educational opportunities?

The Life Skills Program is a cooperative effort between several leading agencies in the Syracuse area designed to help these students succeed once they leave the comfort zone of high school. Students are engaged through a combination of classes from subject matter experts, field trips and hands-on work. 

The Life Skills Program helps each individual plan for what he or she would like to do after leaving school and gives students the opportunity to practice the skills they are learning in class through real world experiences. It promotes movement from school to post-school activities which includes post-secondary education, vocational training, integrated competitive employment (including supported employment), continuing adult education, independent living, and community participation. It is an award-winning, innovative, unique and active program in the Syracuse City School District.

Vocational Training - Arc of Onondaga

Arc of Onondaga Supported Employment staff assist Life Skills students with practical information on joining the work force.  Instructors explore the reasons why people work and how working can help people reach their goals.  Students match goals, values and income needs to help them find rewarding employment.  Classroom topics include strategies for finding career opportunities as well as investigating various career fields.

Field Trips are also an integral part of this training.  Students go on five field trips to local employers and meet face-to-face with employees and management to find out what it’s like to actually pursue a career in that field.  Students take tours of the businesses and have opportunities to ask questions.

Arc of Onondaga is a non-profit organization that primarily serves individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families.  Opened in 1951, Arc of Onondaga is the largest private provider of these services in Onondaga County, serving thousands of people at 37 locations.

Financial Education - Cooperative Federal

The Financial Literacy portion of the Life Skills program is provided by Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union. The curriculum for the course was developed and tested with students in special needs classrooms in the Syracuse City School District. The program helps prepare students to make smart financial decisions on their own. Lessons are interactive and hands-on  and cover a range of topics including setting financial goals, banking and investment basics, how credit works, consumer rights and predatory lending awareness.

“Students learn through real life lessons how to save their money that they earn, how to open and maintain an account, how to buy a car and even how to plan on getting out of their parents’ house.  All of the topics covered during the program raised the students’ awareness of their finances and helped them begin to plan for their future”.   - Jennifer Long & Jill Porter, Special Education Teachers, Henninger High School.

Job Readiness - Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York

Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for children and adults with learning disabilities by providing advocacy, programs and educational resources.  The Life Skills program is an opportunity for the Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York to assist high school students with the daunting task of transitioning from high school to the work environment.  The areas that the Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York concentrates on will equip students with the tools and knowledge necessary to succeed in the work place.

• Support in order to determine students strengths and weaknesses with a focus on strengths.
• Teach students to develop and apply their strengths to the work environment.
• Instruction on the proper methods of obtaining and retaining a long-term position in competitive employment. This includes the proper completion of applications, the interview process, workplace culture and strategies specific to individual’s disabilities.
• Assistance for the student to understand their disability and how it may manifest itself in the workplace.
• Explanation of the ADA and how it affects individuals with disabilities in the workplace.
• Proper communication skills and interaction with authority figures is a key focus throughout the program with the hope that the lessons instilled in this program will be used throughout the students’ lives.

For Additional Information

For more information on Life Skills including funding opportunities, enrollment or other questions, please contact any of the following people:

Thom Dellwo, Cooperative Federal, thomdellwo@coopfed.org, 315-471-1116, ext. 217
Patricia Maiden, PhD, Arc of Onondaga, pmaiden@arcon.org, 315-476-7441, ext. 128, or
Katherine Teasdale-Edwards, Syracuse City School District, kteasd13@scsd.us, 315-435-4462

Or visit our partner agency websites at:
Cooperative Federal
Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York
Syracuse City School District

Photographs 1, 2 & 3: Michael Kieloch.  Photograph 4: Jim Cooke.