A SITE intern working on baking Valentine's Day treats. (Brandywine FaceBook)

Brandywine program preps special needs students for workforce 

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

A SITE intern working on baking Valentine's Day treats. (Brandywine FaceBook)

A SITE intern working on baking Valentine’s Day treats. (Brandywine FaceBook)

Brandywine School District has been helping students with special needs land trade jobs for nearly two decades.

Nazim Bailey, a 20-year-old in his second year with Brandywine’s Skills for Independence, Transition and Employment (SITE) Program, said his experience has made him a leader and mentor to his peers.

“This has helped me not only be an intern in the workforce, but also be confident and lead by example,” Bailey said. 

SITE connects special needs students aged 18 to 22 with vocational internship opportunities.

This academic year, 26 interns will have between two and eight internships with various community organizations. 

“We serve as a bridge between us at Brandywine and adulthood,” said Heather Austin, head of  the program.

Each semester, a student selects one to four internships available from the 19 partners of Brandywine. 

They include Goodwill, ShopRite, Walgreens, the Sheraton, El Diablo Burritos and the Food Bank of Delaware.

The interns learn skills that would help them find work after they graduate from the program. 

Of this year’s 26 interns, 11 of them have paid jobs with the organization they were partnered with. 

Bailey said he enjoys his experience working at Goodwill, where he keeps inventory and stocks movies, books, CDs, shoes and clothes.

Since he’s adored music since he was 2 years old, Bailey hopes to eventually work in a music store where he can listen and sell the work of his favorite musician, Dr. Dre. 

Aliza Pidgeon, a 20-year-old in her third year with SITE, wants to work in a restaurant. 

Brandywine just finished their partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware, where interns went through a 12-week program.

The SITE interns worked on culinary skills at the Food Bank of Delaware. (Brandywine Facebook)

The SITE interns worked on culinary skills at the Food Bank of Delaware. (Brandywine Facebook)

The first six weeks were spent in the classroom and commercial kitchen with students learning different culinary skills.

“They focused on something different each of the six weeks so like one week it was soups and stocks and then it was breads  and then it was sautéing and other techniques,” said Michele Huntley, Brandywine’s special education coordinator.

In the afternoon, they studied for their ServSafe certification.

“It’s awesome to be able to meet so many people and make friends,” Pidgeon said. 

She’s currently interning at a Sheraton hotel, where she cleans, folds and organizes towels and sheets. 

Day of work at SITE

Students arrive at Claymont Community Center on Green Street to work Monday through Thursday from 7:20 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

“We have tried to set it up so it does not look like a school or a classroom,” Austin said. “We want this to feel like work.”

The program uses a fleet of district vans to transport everyone to jobs.

In the morning, interns go to their locker and clock in as if they were coming in to work. 

They change into their uniform for the day and look at the schedule to see where they’re assigned. 

After breakfast, they regroup for a morning meeting where they talk about using day-to-day life skills and job-related skills. 

From 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the interns work with their community partner. 

When they come back to Claymont, they have to complete a job evaluation where they reflect on their day, what they did well and what they could do better. 

Then comes a rec-leisure period when the students can take a break, disappear into their electronic devices, socialize and play games before lunch. 

A vocational question of the day follows lunch.

“That’s another mini-lesson in the afternoon where we talk about a different job every single day and gauge if students are interested or not,” said Austin.

Brandywine’s partnerships regularly rotate based on students’ passions and career aspirations. 

Interns end the day with an afternoon session of working on their own goals and then helping with deliveries to schools in the district.

“We deliver stuff all the time throughout the district and that’s a big piece of what we do, whether it’s celebrations, flowers or completing some of the copy jobs that we have for the teachers in the district,” Austin said. 

Aliza Pidgeon’s favorite job at SITE has been delivering flowers. 

“I like to see people smile and make them happy,” she said, adding that she’s inspired by the professionals her and other interns shadow and learn from every day. 

Part of the interns' work includes delivering flowers and mail. (Brandywine Facebook)

Part of the interns’ work includes delivering flowers and mail. (Brandywine Facebook)

Interns using district mailrooms develop skills such as planning travel routes to schools to maximize time, sorting alphabetically and practicing social skills when greeting district employees at each stop.

SITE also provides résumé and interview training for the interns. 

Since the interns don’t get paid unless they are hired by the community partner, every Friday is a “pay day,” which includes team-building activities in the community and fun events like bowling and museum tours.

Interns also will work on independent living skills on pay days.

This could be practicing using public transportation or purchasing meals out.

“Our goal was to make them as independent as possible when they leave us,” Austin said. “When they first come in it’s more exploratory like college, where they are figuring out what they want to do. Then we try to hone in on what we see long-term and what they really like to do and are good at.”

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