The Frenship ISD Special Education Life Skills program focuses on teaching students everyday skills such as personal and social skills, work-related skills, and independent life skills to prepare them for life after school. The United We Work program takes it a step further and allows the students to go into the workplace environment and use the skills they’ve learned in the classroom.

“Students are given the opportunity to participate in job exploration at the actual jobsite,” said D’Lynn Reed, Frenship Special Education Transition and Employment Designee. “Many of our students can better comprehend the requirements of a job when they are able to experience what the job tasks really entail.”

Students identified types of careers they are interested in, and through a collaborative effort by Texas Workforce, Amerigroup, and several school districts, the students were placed with local businesses for several hours.

Frenship students job shadowed a wide variety of careers thanks to businesses like the Science Spectrum, Cardinals, Local Legends, United, Department of Public Safety, Hub City Ink, B&C Welding, Pet Supplies Plus, Three Dog Bakery, and UMC.

After several hours of shadowing the business, the students gathered for mock interviews to continue working on the skills they’ve been learning in the Life Skills program.

“We are so grateful for these community partnerships that allow our students to explore different careers,” said Jennifer Pierce, Frenship ISD Director of Special Education. “These opportunities have opened doors for our students, and in some cases, they continue to train and become employed by the businesses after the job shadow day.”