Employment skills give the disabled hope; New Jersey: Freehold Regional High School District.

Concerns about what happens to special-needs students after high school prompted a school district in Englishtown, N.J., to establish a program to teach students job skills, providing hope for productive lives.

Freehold Regional High School District collaborated with local business owners and the local Chamber of Commerce to develop a list of available jobs and the minimum job skills required. The district created the Student Transition Employment Program (STEP) to prepare students for the types of work available. Designed to include job-seeking and -retaining skills, the initiative gives students opportunities to explore a variety of local jobs, including on-site task training.

STEP, which led to the district being named the state winner in the National Civic Star Award program, has three components:

* Step one consists of classroom instruction and appropriate work tasks in the school building. Instruction includes hands-on skills training and related activities, such as filling out job applications, participating in mock interviews, discussing hygiene and social skills and practicing how to follow directions.

* Step two includes continued classroom instruction, supervised tasks in the school building and vocational assessment at community work sites.

* Step three continues classroom instruction, but the students also begin to spend part of the school day in a supportive, competitive work environment.

Student participation begins with a vocational evaluation to assess each student's level of functioning, vocational profile and individual needs and preferences. The evaluation is used to develop appropriate matches between the students and potential career fields.

About 60 students, classified with a variety of disabilities and a wide range of cognitive functioning, are selected annually to participate in a series of two-week job sampling cycles based on the results of their interest inventory.

Each student samples between 12 and 17 jobs. Students are accompanied to job sites by a certified job coach who supervises, assists, reinforces and evaluates their performance. STEP also uses other district professionals to help train students.

The program provides students with work experience in structured settings, encourages positive work attitudes, fosters an independent work ethic and self advocacy, helps students increase the quality and speed of their work and enhances self-esteem by increasing their options and opportunities.

About 90 percent of participating students obtain full- or part-time employment after high school as a direct result of the program. Because job coaches and paraprofessionals are school district employees, the only additional costs incurred are for certification of job coaches and expenses for transportation to job sites.

As a result of the growing support and assistance of local businesses, the school district hopes to expand the program to provide greater opportunity for higher-level jobs for students who might have the capability to hold such jobs. The district is also increasing the number of job coaches.

For more information, contact Superintendent James Wasser at Freehold Regional High School District, 11 Pine St., Englishtown, N.J. 07726, or call [phone], Ext. 8668. Wasser's e-mail address is [e-mail].