INFORMATION FOR
William Paterson University’s School of Continuing and Professional Education is expanding its career and life transition program for students ages 18 to 21 with learning disabilities to more than a dozen local school districts.
Students are now being accepted for September 2022 from Clifton, Nutley, Butler, Indian Hills, and River Dell Regional school districts. Other participating school districts include Wayne, Hackensack, Hawthorne, Lakeland, Manchester, Lakeland, Montville, Passaic Valley, Ramsey and Teaneck.
“The purpose of the Transitional and Career Readiness Program is to collaborate with school districts to provide high school students with learning disabilities the opportunity to learn a skill, be employable, and be independent,” says Bernadette Tiernan, executive director of the School of Continuing and Professional Education.
“The main focus of the program is to assist students 18 to 21 and their school districts to meet their individualized education goals,” says Iris DiMaio, program director. Students who graduate from high school with learning disabilities and are not ready to attend college or work are still under the jurisdiction of their school district.
“We provide students with the academic readiness and independence that they need— that is the key,” adds DiMaio. “The curriculum is intensive and flexible based on each student’s capacity.”
Certifications are offered in graphic design and computer technology, child development for jobs as teacher assistants, and culinary trade and hospitality. Students are also taught how to write a resume and cover letter and practice mock job interviews.
The Transitional and Career Readiness programs will run daily five days a week beginning Monday, September 12, 2022, through Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All classes are in person on the William Paterson campus in Wayne.
For more information about the program, call 973-720-2491 or 973-390-0340, or email DiMaioI@wpunj.edu.
