Nebo School District honored by governor’s committee
The Governor’s Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities recently surprised Nebo School District with recognition of being an exceptional example to promote awareness, advocate and empower people with disabilities. The award stated, “Your contributions have made your community a better place to live for all individuals.”
Leah Lobato, director of the Governor’s Committee on Employment with Disabilities, and Shannon Williams, special education teacher, made the presentation to Nebo District Superintendent Rick Nielsen and Special Education Director J. Lynn Jones, Nebo district’s Bridges Program and Stokes Market in Salem.
The nomination reads: “I would like to nominate Nebo School District for their preparation and employment of people with significant disabilities. They currently have programs in place in several schools to help prepare students with various types of disabilities for the workplace. They prepare them through classroom instruction, career guidance, self-determination training, internships in local businesses and job shadowing. In addition to this training, Nebo School District hires many of their graduates in different areas of the district. Some of those areas are: as teacher aides, bus technicians, adult sweepers and lunchroom workers. This could not be done without the devoted teachers and staff that provide training and support to these graduates. The teachers and coordinators of these programs are currently working on expanding their programs and partnerships with other agencies to better support their students. They are great examples of preparing and employing people with disabilities and a great asset to the community.”
Another program in Nebo School District, Bridges, was also honored. The nomination reads: “I would like to nominate the Bridges Transition Unit of Nebo School District for this award. There are currently 35 students. Each and every one of these students has an on-the-job training site where they are learning valuable work skills. Several students have more than one site. When they are not at work, the Bridges staff is working on life skills to make independent living much easier for students. Some of the life skills are cooking, dusting, vacuuming, washing dishes, laundry, etc. There are seven technicians and two teachers that are responsible for this amazing program. Each day these students arrive at school, get ready for the day, head to work responsibilities, do daily chores and even plan, prepare, and cook their own lunches daily. Then they even clean up after themselves and end the day with exercise. These students become more and more independent each and every day. The staff at Bridges raises the bar for these students to aspire to these expectations. The love and compassion that is shown for these students is amazing. This year there are six students who are currently employed and receiving pay checks.”
Nebo honored one of these employees, Shane Fawson, just this month with the customer service-oriented PEAK Award for his positive energy and kindness as he works with the medical fragile unit in the district. Stokes Market in Salem was also honored for hiring employees with disabilities.