Area college programs put the focus on ability

November 2, 2011

James Goodman, Staff writer

Democrat and Chronicle

Purchase Image

Nazareth senior Patrick Kelly, left, and David Graham, who is in the LifePrep@Naz program, work at the recently opened bike shop at Nazareth College. / Carlos Ortiz/staff photographer

David Graham is getting the college experience that might otherwise be beyond his reach because of a new program — and one that is part of a national trend — at Nazareth College.

The 18-year-old Farmington youth, who previously attended Victor High School and Wayne-Finger Lakes Board of Cooperative Educational Services, was cut off from a traditional route to college because of learning disabilities.

But he seems to be thriving at a new program, LifePrep@Naz, which has 12 other students and is a collaboration involving the college, The Arc of Monroe County and the Victor Central School District.

"The work is harder but it's easier to do because of the environment," said Graham.

Although the three or four years that Graham can expect to be in the program won't give him a college degree, he is developing work and social skills that should help him in the job market.

In addition to taking such classes as careerexploration from the four instructors in the program, Graham is enrolled for no credit in a class on short stories at Nazareth and is getting work experience at the college's bike shop.

Similar programs exist at roughly nine other local colleges. While each takes on its own character, all have the goal of providing a college experience for youths who have disabilities and lack the traditional credentials or support systems to attend college.

"As a society, we are reframing what it means to be a competent, able, contributing member of a community, including a college campus community," said Whitney H. Rapp, associate dean at the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. School of Education at St. John Fisher. And, she said, "it is time to think about disabilities as different abilities, not inabilities."

Higher profile

Programs at local colleges for people with intellectual disabilities are getting a higher profile because of a federal grant awarded last year to the University of Rochester. The $2.5 million over five years is being shared with programs at Roberts Wesleyan College, Monroe Community College and Keuka College. The backdrop to this initiative is the 2008 Higher Education Opportunities Act, through which $11 million was subsequently appropriated for 27 pilot programs — including the consortium in Rochester.

n Monroe County alone, there are about 1,000 students, ages 14 to 21, who have been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and receive services funded by the state's Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office, said Martha Mock, who is director of the Institute for Innovative Transition at UR.

"It's not any more expensive than other programs that some may be participating in," said Mock, referring to the move to provide a college experience to students with intellectual disabilities.

The programs, Mock noted, provide these students with job and social skills that will allow them to get jobs that pay at least minimum wage. Then they are less likely to need government services.

Frequently those with intellectual disabilities, which range from some forms of autism to Down syndrome, have limited choices of jobs and are paid low wages.

Securing rights

The growth of providing a college experience to those with intellectual disabilities is part of an evolution of rights that began in the mid-1970s, said Ellen Contopidis, an associate professor of education at Nazareth.

Federal legislation in 1975 provided youths through the age of 21 with a free and appropriate public education.

With each reauthorization of the law, the ability of schools to provide this education in an inclusive setting has been strengthened. And legislation in 2008 said that college could be appropriate for people with intellectual disabilities.

Contopidis said that she wanted to start a program at Nazareth after seeing the success of a program at Keuka College in Yates County.

"Until these kinds of programs, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities did not have an opportunity for a campus-based program," Contopidis said.

These programs also benefit a college by adding a dimension of diversity to the campus.

Typically, colleges hook up with programs in the community or with school districts that work with students with disabilities.

UR, for example, has teamed up with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services 1 in Perinton to establish a transition program that is based at UR. The program is for 18- to 21-year-olds with intellectual disabilities.

JoAnn Genthner, the BOCES principal who runs the program, said the students spend half the school day at UR taking classes taught by BOCES staff and half the day working, either on or off campus.

Students in the program can get involved in college clubs and other activities. And UR students serve as mentors in the program or help as interns.

Six of the nine BOCES students who completed the program last school year are employed, with businesses ranging from Wegmans Food Markets Inc. to a pet shop.

Using funds from the $2.5 million federal grant, the mentoring program at UR for the BOCES students is expanding services. The BOCES students next semester will be able to audit UR courses.

This will give the BOCES students a larger network to make more connections with the community, she said.

JGOODMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com