educational - T-V-S Overcoming Challenges

TVS & Mountain Sun Community School Partnership Highlighted for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Mar 25, 2024 | News

In honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and its annual campaign highlighting how people with and without disabilities come together to form strong communities; Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) is proudly celebrating our community partnership, “Reading Buddies,” with Mountain Sun Community School.

The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) 2024 theme, “A World of Opportunities” aims to raise awareness about inclusion of people with Developmental Disabilities (DD) in all areas of community life and reminds us to explore the work still needed to remove barriers.

TVS and Mountain Sun Community School have been working together since 2018 with the Reading Buddies program. “This partnership helps the TVS participants learn leaderships skills, along with helping the students and participants to have relationships with others that are not paid service providers,” said TVS DSP Ashleigh Alquiza. “When you look at communities and individuals with DD, there is a critical divide that sometimes separates rather than includes them. Reading Buddies is helping bridge that gap.”

Participants join students every other Friday for reading and literacy activities. Each group ranging from five to six students plus a TVS participant showcase creativity by creating skits, crafts, songs, and dances to accompany the readings.

“Through our adventures with Mountain Sun Community School we have grown, gained confidence, and made some lifelong friendships,” said TVS INTERACT Supervisor Brooke Wilson. “A true partnership is about people listening to one another and working together to accomplish a common goal. Each person contributes in their own unique way and with respect and learning for all.”

This partnership offers TVS participants opportunities to develop leadership skills while encouraging long lasting relationships in an inclusive and mutually benefiting environment.

“Our class reading lessons are far more engaging with our [TVS] Reading Buddies here,” said Brigid Cameron, Mountain Sun Community School Teacher. “Concepts such as literal and figurative, inferring, setting, or plot are the main focus for our morning lessons, but the real learning is about working with diversity.”

The benefits of this community partnership stretch past the immediate benefits of reading and literacy. Each individual and student is developing self-advocacy skills, gaining confidence, and creating problem-solving skills with life-long friendships.

“I have seen children grow more comfortable with diversity, engage more fully with new people and guests, and their creativity and openness expand,” reflected Cameron. “Having a break from our Reading Buddy program during COVID impressed upon me the need we all have to embrace the beautiful friendships we have created with our class and our friends who learn with us every other Friday.”

Mountain Sun Community School holistically nurtures, challenges, and guides each unique child to discover academic skills using Montessori principles, explore the natural world, create through self-expression, and belong to a collaborative, diverse, and peaceful community. We invite you to learn more at: https://mountainsunschool.org/

Read in the Transylvania Times.

TVS Participants ‘Bake for Good’ with King Arthur Baking Company

Nov 1, 2023 | News

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) participants from INTERACT spent last Friday morning learning how to bake scones from scratch with the King Arthur Bake for Good program thanks to the recent partnership between TVS and King Arthur Baking Company.

“Baking is a wonderful way to connect with others,” said Bake for Good Program Manager Amy Driscoll. “We were thrilled to have a chance to meet some of our TVS partners and share our love of baking.”

Bake for Good is King Arthur Baking Company’s free outreach program with the main goals to learn, bake, and share. TVS participants practiced math and science skills while making scones from scratch.

They learned to measure dry ingredients, mix in butter, and were able to customize their scones with either blueberry jammy bits or cinnamon.

“Even our participants that don’t like to get their hands dirty were kneading and working the butter and flour mixtures like champs,” said TVS INTERACT Supervisor Brooke Wilson. “Working with King Arthur crew was a wonderful experience – everyone was kind, helpful, and inclusive.”

Each baker made half a dozen scones to enjoy later and share with family and friends. After the event, the INTERACT team was able to keep the extra baking supplies to support their baking club at TVS.

“The Bake for Good event was a great way to show how business and mission can be even more interconnected,” said TVS VP of Business Development and Marketing Beth Rich. “Having King Arthur as a partner is a benefit to TVS and our community in so many different ways, and we could not be happier working with them.”

Looking ahead, King Arthur Baking Company will be in the Greenville area from November 2 – December 22 for their pop-up store and has plans to continue teaching the Bake for Good program in schools across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

TVS joins annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Oct 5, 2023 | News

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) today announced it is joining the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy in recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual awareness campaign that takes place each October. The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. This year’s theme is “Advancing Access and Equity.”

The history of NDEAM traces back to 1945, when it started as a week and focused only on people with physical disabilities. Later, it expanded to a full month, and its name and scope evolved to acknowledge the importance of increasing the workforce inclusion of people with all nature of disabilities.

“TVS is proud to be a part of this year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month,” said Beth Rich, TVS VP and Business Development and Marketing. “We want to spread the important message that we value all perspectives, including those of individuals with disabilities not only in the month of October, but year-round.”

Reflecting this year’s theme, throughout the month, TVS will be educating employees on disability employment issues and its commitment to an accessible and equitable work culture.

“National Disability Employment Awareness Month reminds us of the valued contributions people with disabilities make in our nation’s workplaces, and the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 marks a major milestone in our nation’s ongoing quest to advance access and equity for all Americans,” said Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “So, from now through October, we will be exploring the act’s impact on everything from employment to community living to non-discrimination to accessible technology.”

Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in National Disability Employment Awareness Month and ways they can promote its messages—during October and throughout the year—by visiting dol.gov/NDEAM.

TVS celebrates International Day of People with Disabilities

Dec 3, 2020 | News

TVS is celebrating International Day of People with Disabilities! This year, IDPWD is focusing on bringing awareness to Invisible Disabilities with the 2020 theme: “Not All Disabilities Are Visible.”

The campaign is spreading awareness and information on invisible disabilities to help fight the stigma and discrimination still associated with these disabilities.

They can include mental illness, sight or hearing impairments, cognitive dysfunctions, and more.

We invite you to learn more about people with disabilities, both visible and invisible, at https://idpwd.org/.

For voice recognition accessibility, the following text duplicates the information on the infographic.

15% of the world’s population is living with a disability
- This is more than 1 billion people
450 million people live with mental or neurological conditions
2/3 of these individuals will not seek professional help
- In part due to stigma, discrimination, and neglect
Some disabilities may not be immediately apparent, including:
- Mental illnesses
- Chronic pain and fatigue
- Sight and hearing impairments
- Diabetes
- Brain injuries
- Neurological disorders
- Learning differences
- Cognitive dysfunctions

Every year: 69 million individuals are estimated to sustain Traumatic Brain injuries
Every year: 1/160 children are identified as on the autism spectrum
“A reminder of the importance of removing barriers for all people living with disabilities, both visible and invisible.”
Source: The International Day of People with Disabilities
Data from: The World Health Organization (WHO)
#NotAllDisabilitiesAreVisible #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

Pre-ETS program continue assisting local high schools with a virtual curriculum

Oct 29, 2020 | News

In response to the dramatic changes in high school operations due to COVID-19, the TVS Pre-ETS team has been working virtually to continue assisting local high school students with job preparation skills.

The TVS Preparation for Employment Success team works with the North Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) program to assist students with an IEP or 504 plan in Transylvania and Henderson County High Schools. Since the beginning of the school year, Pre-ETS has worked with each high school to best allow for the easiest and safest collaboration.

TVS Pre-ETS Team Lead Jessica Casey and TVS Pre-ETS Program Specialist Montana White, have been working with almost 160 students in six separate high schools within the two counties via computer screens.

“With the semester being virtual, we have actually been able to meet with classes more often and offer extra help when students need more discussion,” said Casey. All the high schools are organized differently to best accommodate social distancing and health safety. Currently, Pre-ETS teachers are teaching a total of 24 classes and are in the process of adding one more to their schedules.

To best accommodate the virtual world, Pre-ETS teachers have changed their education tactics. In the past Pre-ETS has used games and interactive activities, which are no longer options. Instead worksheets, videos, reflections and discussions have become the daily activities.

“We have been very successful transforming our curriculum for a virtual platform,” said White. “The students are actively participating and fully engaged in our activities.”

The virtual curriculum changes have the Pre-ETS team planning some fun new experiences. Casey and White are in the beginning stages of planning virtual tours of local businesses. The tours will be recorded and posted on the students Google Classroom for students to get an idea of what working in that specific location would be like.

Looking ahead, Casey says, “we are happy and excited to deliver whatever the schools need from us as decisions are made about the Spring semester.”