District 128 seeks local businesses for vocational work experience program

District 128 is seeking partnerships with local community businesses and students with disabilities attending both Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools.

The partnership will allow the students to help the business, while the business will provide a place for them to practice essential workplace skills needed to gain future paid employment.

The district is providing a summer school vocational work experience class for a small group of students from 8:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. June 22 to July 15. Businesses are being sought that would be willing to allow a few students and a staff member to come in and do hands-on work to learn soft skills to improve their employability.

District 128 is also open to any projects that could be done do on the Vernon Hills campus to help a business and learn these skills outside of a worksite.

A certified teacher will oversee all workplace sites and projects, with teacher assistants on-site for support. Students are ages 16-20. The district is open to 2-hour shifts or the full 4-hour shift, if available, as students can be bussed directly to the workplace and home from there.

District 128 is flexible and open to any suggestions.

Tasks sought include, but are not limited to: zoning and facing, cleaning, boxing, bagging, organizing, customer service, busing, dishwashing, hostessing, setting up, shredding, copying, labeling, etc.

Past businesses that have provided work experiences include: Olive Garden, Six Flags, Lee's Doughnuts, Morrison's Laundromat, This Old Book and T.J. MAXX.

For information, call Joan Parker at (847) 721-8900 or Maggie Jantczak, (847) 651-7968.