EWING, NJ … The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) has been awarded a $1.28 million federal grant to substantially enhance and develop its Career & Community Studies (CCS) program, which helps highly motivated students with developmental and intellectual disabilities (ID) to obtain academic and career opportunities.
TCNJ was selected as one of just 27 Model Demonstrations of Transition/Post Secondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) nationwide to receive the funding, which was announced by the U.S. Secretary of Education last week. The grant will be implemented over the course of five years.
The new opportunities will begin off campus. Looking to the future, TCNJ will strengthen a fundamental bridge to K-12 education by encouraging high-school students with ID to “think college.” In partnership with two local school districts — Hopewell and Haddonfield — CCS will provide training to students, parents, and personnel to promote the students’ transition from secondary to higher education.
At the College, the program’s growth will both expand the college and post-college opportunities for CCS students and increase the ability of faculty and peers to work with them in various disciplines.
Areas of improvement will include: developing interest-centered advisement and career internships for students with ID, furthering students’ participation and faculty support in regular college courses, increasing students’ academic and social ties to the larger student body, and enhancing their skills of independence and interdependence.
Richard Blumberg, PhD, associate professor of special education, will serve as lead Principal Investigator (PI) for the grant. Jerry G. Petroff, PhD, associate professor of special education, and William Behre, PhD, Dean of the School of Education, will serve as Co-Principal Investigators on the grant.
For more information about the Career & Community Studies program, visit http://ccs.tcnj.edu/.