Project Search
Project SEARCH is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see Application Documents below. All applications are due by February 15th, 2025.
Project SEARCH is a one year, High School Transition Program for students with disabilities who are 18-21 and have deferred or are deferring receipt of their standard diploma and meet eligibility for Vocational Rehabilitation's Supported Employment Program. This one-year program prepares these students for competitive employment in the community by immersing them in an all-day work setting. It is the expectation that students will exit the K-12 public school system upon completion of Project SEARCH in order to obtain competitive paid employment.
Each Project SEARCH candidate will apply to the program and is selected through an interview process by a panel of committee members. Selection of new interns is made in the Spring of the prior school year. For entrance criteria, refer to the Project SEARCH Entrance Criteria below.
The cornerstone of Project SEARCH is total immersion in a large business. Each day, student interns report to the host business, learn employability skills while participating in three internships/experiences during the year. Students participate in class to define their career goal and plan necessary steps to achieve that goal.
Project Search School Day
8:00-9:00am: Classroom: Employability Skills
9:00am-11:30am: Worksites
11:30am - Lunch
12:00pm – Worksites
2:00pm Classroom: Debrief, Journal, Communication
2:30pm-Depart
Martin SAILS
Martin S.A.I.L.S. is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see Application Documents below. All applications are due by February 15th, 2025.
Martin S.A.I.L.S. (Students Acquiring Independent Living Skills) was designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities who are aged 18-22 years old. The Martin S.A.I.L.S. program focuses directly on transition opportunities and postsecondary goals of students who have deferred receipt of their standard diploma.
This student-driven/teacher-led program strives to promote the development of skills in the four domains of transition: Vocation and Employment, Independent Living, Personal and Social, and Recreation and Leisure.
Students participating in Martin S.A.I.L.S. will engage in a variety of community-based instruction and work-based learning opportunities, as well as, learning lab activities. Through hands-on learning centers and labs, students also gain knowledge and experience in a variety of independent living and self-determination skills. Martin S.A.I.L.S. is housed at The HOPE Center for Autism in Stuart.
Career Experiences
Learning job skills and gaining employment since 1993
The goal of Career Experiences is to secure employment for high school students with disabilities by providing opportunities to gain and master job skills at over 60 participating Martin County businesses. Students receive course credit by volunteering their time each school day. Students experience a variety of jobs by rotating job sites each semester. Transportation is provided by school district buses. Some job sites have school district job coaches working with the students and employees. Other job sites have students working independently with designated employees as mentors.
Each student has unique abilities that contribute to the work force. Gaining job experiences enables students to make choices. Job choices allow students to secure jobs that match their preferences and skills. The Career Experiences Program is an important link to the future success and long term employment of each student.
Please contact us for a list of participating businesses.