Support Southside Occupational Academy's Students and Staff!

Help students practice life skills & show staff appreciation for their hard work!

Support Southside Occupational Academy's Students and Staff! image

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Help students practice life skills & show staff appreciation for their hard work!

Support Southside Occupational Academy's Students and Staff!

Southside Occupational Academy High School is a Transition Center for students with special needs aged 16-22 years. Students have the opportunity to learn within many contextualized environments through instructional labs in the areas of retail, grocery, office, culinary, hospitality, laundry, dish room, carpentry, and daily living.

Community-Based Instruction Field Trips

As part of these opportunities, students can participate in weekly Community-Based Instruction field trips. Community-Based Instruction (CBI) is designed to target the development of functional life skills and vocational skills in a community-based environment designed for students with disabilities to provide training and experience to students in authentic settings. These weekly field trips vary and include but are not limited to seeing a movie at the movie theater, purchasing a meal at a restaurant, and shopping at a grocery store.

Costs associated with the trips, such as meals and groceries, are not covered by local school funds and must be covered by the student. Each trip averages $15, which makes it difficult for many of them to cover the ongoing costs. In order to address this equity gap and ensure that all students can enjoy the same opportunities, we are seeking funding to provide weekly stipends for CBI field trips to students who are unable to otherwise afford them.


Strengthening Staff's Social Emotional Competence

The school recognizes the dedication of its staff but is also cognizant of the challenges inherent in the field of Special Education, particularly the risk of burnout due to high job demands. To support a positive and inclusive school climate and prevent burnout among Southside Occupational staff, the school is seeking to prioritize strengthen staff's social emotional competence. This careful self-reflection and skill-building process will enable relational trust to grow, providing the foundation for collaborative school improvement. This will include a variety of monthly activities, such as stress reduction tactics, relaxation practices, opportunities for collaboration and connection that lead to increased social support, and other self-care strategies.