Great Oaks Special Needs Services
Overview of Secondary Programs & Services
Mission: “To provide quality collaborative services for individuals with disabilities to become employed, productive members of the community.”
Great Oaks has been CARF accredited for approximately 15 years.
Campus Programs Secondary Services
q Vocational Education was mandated as an option for all Ohio youth ages 16 and older in the 1960’s
q Career and Technical training programs then became an option for students with disabilities
q In order to accommodate students with disabilities, a continuum of options was designed:
q Option 1: Students are included in regular Career and Technical program with monitoring and little support (For example: students with learning disabilities who get extended time on tests, monitoring by all teachers, some additional tutoring by Special Needs Coordinators)
q Option 2: Students are included in regular Career and Technical programs with supports and accommodations (For example: students with learning disabilities or those with developmental handicaps who need more tutoring, extended time and/or quiet place for tests, breakdown of assignments, utilization of computerized academic programs, etc.)
q Option 3: Students are included in regular program with major adaptations (such as half-day option), or they are included in one of our five Adapted Career and Technical programs (1-A) such as Horticulture, Hotel Operations, and Restaurant Operations. These are probably students with more significant disabilities such as developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury, autism, Down Syndrome, etc.
q Option 4: Students are in specialized programs to meet individualized needs such as Transition To Work programs or Project SEARCH.
Great Oaks provides services to approximately 400 students in campus programs through options 1 - 3. An additional 100 students (approximate) are served in the Option 4 programs. Students in regular or adapted Career and Technical programs receive the services of a Special Needs Coordinator. Class sizes are smaller in the Adapted Career and Technical programs. Adapted programs also include community work experience and a job coach. All students with disabilities receive a Career Assessment in order to give their IEP team better career planning information and make a better match with available Career and Technical options. If students need assistance securing employment in their senior year, they may be referred to a Job Training Coordinator who will work with their instructor to provide individualized job development.
Transition To Work Coordinators (an Option 4 program) work with students who may be identified as not able to be successful in a Career and Technical Program. The TTW Coordinators work with students at the affiliated schools and assist the IEP team with individualized work experiences and final job placement in their local community. Job coaches may be assigned to help a student in any community job site. Great Oaks has five Transition To work programs:
q Hamilton County Transition to Work (Diamond Oaks and Scarlet Oaks campuses)
q Highland County Transition to Work
q Laurel Oaks Transition to Work (serving Fayette and Clinton counties)
q Live Oaks Transition to Work (serving Clermont County)
