Sycamore High School Work Study

The Work Study & Transition Program at Sycamore High School is designed to prepare students with disabilities for community based, competitive employment upon graduation.  Our program assists students ages 15-21 in gaining both volunteer and paid work experience within the school environment and community.  

Our sophomores start their work experience at Sycamore High School based job sites, including the Aves Store and work box tasks.  In the Aves Store, students restock shelves, take inventory, and face shelves.   Each student’s involvement with work study increases as they get older.  Once students meet credits their senior year, they have the option of joining one of our transition programs, UC Launch or TIP.  TIP is short for Transition Internship Program.  This program is housed out of Sycamore High School and focuses on providing students ages 18-21 with valuable employability, daily living, and community based skills.   UC Launch is a similar program geared around transition and employment.  This program is housed on the University of Cincinnati’s campus.

About the Work Study & Transition Program:

• Provides students with disabilities with valuable school and community based work and job training experience in the Aves Store and also within the communities of Blue Ash, Sycamore Township, Symmes Township, and Montgomery
• Transition Coordinator matches each student’s interests and skills with appropriate community-based work
• Students in the program are managed and monitored by a licensed Special Education Teacher, Tamara Brewer
  • General Work Study Contact Esther Adams ([email protected])
• Each student is assigned a job coach for every work shift, provided at the cost of the district (no cost to the employer)

• The job coach provides on-site support, mentoring and task guidance in the work environment
• Students work in 1-3 different job sites per year (depending on where they are in the program continuum)
• Hours vary between 8:00am-2:00pm Monday-Friday
• Shifts usually last between 1-3 hours, depending on needs of the job site
• Most positions are volunteer based
• Occasionally, positions turn into paid positions depending on the needs of the hiring business
• Businesses are eligible for  a tax deduction for hiring individuals with disabilities.

Work Study permits students to:

• Utilize the school and community as a learning environment
• Learn academic, independent living, and employability skills
• Develop self-advocacy skills to enhance future success
• Cultivate social relationships through participation in a community work environments alongside their non-disabled peers