Towson University Outreach
Towson, Maryland
Contact
Sandy Fisher
Coordinator
Baltimore County Public Schools
Lida Lee Tall, Room 321
Towson, Maryland 21252-0001
Phone: 410-887-4155
Fax: 410-653-9790
E-mail: sfisher@towson.edu
Mission
The goal of this program is to expand career options and opportunities for young adults with developmental disabilities in an inclusive, age-appropriate environment. In order for these students to best meet the demands and expectations of the real world, it is necessary for them to have access to more integrated experiences throughout the educational process.
The Towson University Outreach Program provides a vehicle for educational transition alternatives, as well as the formation of a partnership between Baltimore County Public Schools and Towson University. The instructional curriculum integrates education, vocation, socialization, recreation, and self-determination within a life skills/transition-based curriculum on a university campus environment, while creating a unique reciprocal relationship benefiting all students and staff involved. The uniqueness is further reflected in the opportunities to develop individual programming based on students' personal abilities and areas of need. This partnership provides interdisciplinary involvement while it effectively offers a balance of enrichment.
Organization
Organization Type: University, four-year college, university affiliated program (UAP), Education Agency: State, Local
Geographical Area: County
Primary Setting: Four-year college or university, Competitive employment worksite, Supported employment worksite
Funding: External funding source: Other, State-funded grant for extended year program
Consumers
Target Population Postsecondary education students with disabilities, Community service providers, Parents, Business people or employer, Teachers or trainers
Disability Areas: Mental retardation (Moderate, Severe), Multi-disabled, Speech impairment, Visual impairment, Autism, Epilepsy
NTA Framework Categories
Description
Towson University has served as an effective educational environment for 21 full-time students with developmental disabilities since the 1997-98 academic school year. The collaborative efforts of Baltimore County Public Schools, Department of Special Education, and Towson University have created a unique comprehensive instructional environment. The model has demonstrated successful inclusion in education and has provided opportunities for regular educators and special educators as well as Towson University students and Baltimore County special education students to interact on a regular basis.
To be most effective and reflective of the real life to which students are transitioning, the need arises for an extension of the program into the summer months. Continuation of skills learned require ongoing application if they are to be internalized for effective utilization. Therefore, Towson University offers continued programming and services throughout the summer months. Inclusive of these opportunities are options for effective transitioning, inclusion in a natural environment and maintaining identified goals and objectives as mandated by the Individualized Education Plans generated during the academic school year. The priority areas include inclusion, transitioning, collaboration, and self-advocacy.
Inclusion
Students with developmental disabilities will become an integral component of their natural environment. At the age of 18, students, within the Ridge/Ruxton area, seeking a certificate of completion, are given the option of completing their education/transitioning as members of the Towson University Outreach Program.
Each enrolled student receives implementation of IEP goals and objectives on the campus of Towson University, an inclusive age-appropriate environment. Each student has opportunities for inclusive interactions with nondisabled peers/students. Such opportunities include course participation, recreation/leisure activities, job training, cultural activities, social activities, classroom instruction within inclusive settings, mobility/orientation activities, transitioning, and self-advocacy activities.
Transitioning
Students with developmental disabilities participate in a Life Skills program that teaches them a variety of prevocational skills in a classroom based at Towson University. They are also involved in a variety of career opportunities and training on campus. Students increase time with supervisors on jobsites, with job coaching provided by Baltimore County Public Schools, Department of Special Education, and Towson University personnel. In addition, students maintain life skills development through the services of a certified occupational therapist, increase mobility/orientation using the natural setting of the university, and explore post-school options and agencies as part of the curriculum.
Collaboration
The collaboration of Baltimore County Public Schools, Department of Special Education, and Towson University serves as an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to develop an interdisciplinary model and offers a balance of enrichment for all involved. The program offers an increased collaboration with the providing agencies prior to the student’s transition. It also offers the unique involvement of the Maryland Disability Law Center, University of Maryland, to develop an effective self-advocacy component to the comprehensive curriculum.
The continued "clinic" instructional environment provides opportunities for Towson University students to formally observe secondary special education. Also, the summer program provides early intervention time for Penn-Mar and the Alliance, providing agencies, to interact with prospective clients prior to graduation. In addition, the emerging collaboration with the Maryland Disability Law Clinic provides an opportunity for law students to interact with students who are developmentally delayed in preparation for the credited clinic experience while they are under supervision.
Self-Advocacy
The project empowers students enrolled in the Outreach program with the knowledge of their civil rights as members of society. Students will increase their awareness of their legal rights as they have passed their 18th birthday. In order to achieve this, students become familiar with the Maryland Disability Law Clinic and its purpose. University of Maryland School of Law and Baltimore County Public Schools initiate a collaboration to develop a protocol for self-advocacy implemented in the fall of 1998. Students and staff of Towson University and the University of Maryland Disability Law Clinic interact on both campuses. Finally, the certified special education teacher adapts the BARC survey for self-advocacy to serve as a foundation for the instructional component of self-advocacy
Evidence of Success
Success Story
My name is "R" and I soon will be 21 years old. This is my last year in school. I have spent the last three years of school in the Towson University Outreach Program, Baltimore County Public Schools. I was one of the students in the very first year of this program. I have had a lot of experiences and made new friends. I would like to share my story, my story of success, so others may learn from me.
I started at Towson University Outreach in 1997. It was very different than my high school. There were no bells, no assemblies, or set lunchtime. There was no schedule. So I made my own schedule. I knew I wanted to work and my teacher knew my parents wanted me to learn school stuff. The first thing I learned was self-determination. I had to learn to make my own decisions. I decided to do both and participated in making my own schedule. I could work at a job site if I finished my class work. This was really hard at first. Now it's easy.
During my three years here I have taken classes with nondisabled peer buddies, joined a Student Government Organization, Best Buddies, and have had several work experiences. Going to work was my favorite part. I tried several different types of jobs and learned lots of work skills and behaviors. I even helped make two training videos, one for employers and one to teach my classmates proper interview techniques. I am very proud of these and know others will use them after I graduate.
This last year of school was very hard, lots of decision-making for me and my family. We talked with different service providers and picked the one that we liked the best. With graduation coming in May, the question of where I would work was my big question. I knew I wanted to work in food service. I love that job. And I do it well. So, with the help of my teacher and my family, I completed an application. Guess what. The place where I am currently working on campus, Newell Dining Hall, hired me! I'm earning my own money and doing what I like to do.
I am proud of what I have done at Towson University Outreach. I had the chance to learn the skills I will need as I transition. I feel ready to go. I have succeeded in reaching my goal and I am ready to be a part of the community.
Products
Physical Education for Students with Cognitive Challenges • The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. • Faculty Development Grant • Dr. Andrea Boucher, Professor, Towson University, and Sandy Fisher, Special Education, Baltimore County Public Schools • 1998
Advanced Small Group Dynamics Training: A Collaboration of Towson University and Baltimore County Public Schools • Towson University Enhancement Grant • Dr. Karen Eskow, Assistant Professor, Towson University, and Sandy Fisher, Special Education, Baltimore County Public Schools • 1998
Towson University/Towson University Outreach Program: A Collaborative Partnership • Maryland State Department of Education • Sandy Fisher, Special Education, Baltimore County Public Schools • 1998, 1999, and 2000
Working Well with Workers • Beth Merryman • A training video for prospective employees to better understand young adults with disabilities, accompanied with a training manual.
Preparing for Your Interview: Tips for Success • Beth Merryman • My students served as the models for this training tape with the assistance of university students. This includes a handbook for the teacher and one for the student.
Social Splash • Julie DiMarco, Karen Jenkins, and Rachel Kinney • The study focuses on recreation and leisure skills.
Transitional Services 2000 • Colleen Clark and Marlene Riley • A research project through the collaboration of Towson University Department of Occupational Therapy and the Outreach Program. A handy, dandy resource for families.
Workshop - Innovative Education: Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities in the University • Dr. Karen Eskow, Assistant Professor Towson University, Department of Occupational Therapy • Video of our workshop as presented at the the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Montreal, Canada
Updated 11/3/00