TAP TEAM HONORED
     
On Friday, May 20, a team of educators from the Upper Valley JVS were honored as a recipient of the Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educator Award for the creation and implementation of the Transitional Access Program (TAP which includes Project Search and Discovery.  Team members are:  William Overla, Student Services Supervisor; John Lavey, VOSE; Stephanie Johnson, Academic Supervisor; Patti Moore, Project Search Coordinator; and Nicole Luciano, Discovery Coordinator.  The award celebration was held in conjunction with the local ìYes I Can!î awards at the Hope Hotel and Conference Center in Dayton.  Dan Edwards, WDTN TV2 News was the Master of Ceremonies.  The event was sponsored locally by the Miami Valley Regional Center.

The Franklin B. Walter Award is presented by the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.  It is an honor for individuals or teams of individuals who have made outstanding contributions toward standards-based instruction for all learners; toward building capacity in a district or building; or toward improving a district or building's accountability efforts.  This award was established by the Ohio Department of Education.

TAP was developed by the Upper Valley JVS as an innovative program model designed to provide a continuum of services to students with disabilities from the ages of 14-22.   

"Those involved in the development of TAP have spent countless hours creating new and innovative partnerships and learning opportunities to benefit students with disabilities,"  states Michael Shellabarger, Executive Director at Upper Valley JVS.
     
TAP is a different model due to the multi-agency collaboration that is new and unique to our current education model.  Students are able to take a core of academic classes being taught by eight intervention specialists and specific to a content area.  This allows the students to have instruction by a trained professional, but not in a typical resource setting.
 
The program being located in a career technical school allows for a multitude of career exploration opportunities through a program called Discovery.  Discovery involves career coaches that work within different occupational areas and students rotate on a quarterly basis to experience the aptitudes and skill sets necessary for each field.  After a year of Discovery, TAP participants may elect to enter a two-year career technical program or the team may assess and choose other options such as Project Search.

Upper Valley JVSís Project Search is another collaborative effort that includes a partnership with Upper Valley Medical Center, where the program is located.
     
"During my career in health care administration spanning more than 30 years, I have been involved with numerous programs which made a difference in the lives of others.  However, Project Search stands alone when measured by the uniquely positive contributions it has made to the Upper Valley Medical Center culture, staff and patients,"  says Michael Maiberger of Premier Health Partners.

Project SEARCH students experience complete immersion in a business setting and are provided with services from a full-time transition specialist as well as full-time job coaches that facilitate the various internships available to students.                 

TAP serves the three county ESC's of Darke, Miami and Shelby, as well as participation from both Miami and Shelby County Developmental Disabilities personnel.

For more information about the TAP program or Project Search or Discovery, contact either Patti Moore or Nicole Luciano at the Upper Valley JVS at 937.778.1980.