DAVENPORT, IOWA (June 3, 2021) — This school year, St Ambrose University invited interns from Davenport Schools to become immersed in the university's work culture and build competitive job-skills. This initiative was part of St Ambrose’s role as a host site for Project SEARCH, a national program established 21 years ago to help students, ages 18-21, who have intellectual or developmental disabilities to gain competitive employment skills.
In the Quad-Cities, Project SEARCH is an internship program for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities in the Davenport Community School District. It is targeted to students whose goal is competitive employment. The students have been working as interns within St Ambrose University departments.
The students have thrived within Project SEARCH and tonight, 6PM, Thursday, June 3, they will be honored at a graduation ceremony. The ceremony will be held in the parking lot of the St Ambrose Rogalski Center. St Ambrose is located at 518 W Locust St, Davenport, Iowa, and the parking lot that will hold the ceremony is located in a corner lot off of Lombard Street and Ripley Street. If it rains, the ceremony will take place in the Rogalski Center Ballroom.
“This has definitely been an unprecedented year for our students, and they have come out of it stronger than ever,” said Lynn Koelker, Exceptional Education Specialist with Davenport Community School District. “Five of our seven students who participated in Project SEARCH this year have already landed jobs and have begun working on their lifelong journeys. The remaining students have been busy applying for jobs, and some have had interviews this week. Our goal is for all of our students to obtain a job working within the community. We are looking forward to celebrating their hard work and accomplishments.”
“We are very proud of the progress the Project SEARCH interns have made,” said TJ Schneckloth, Superintendent at Davenport Community School District. “We thank St Ambrose University for hosting the interns and providing such an enriching learning opportunity.”
According to Koelker, interns explore a variety of possible career paths during the program. The students are supported by a Davenport Community School Instructor, a skills trainer, and a job developer. Throughout the internships, the skills trainer and instructor routinely check in with the intern, mentor and supervisor to guarantee a successful internship experience.
The program is collaboratively funded and supported by Davenport Community School District, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and St Ambrose University.
To learn more about the Davenport Community School District, please visit http://www.davenportschools.org/.
About the Davenport Community School District: Serving more than 14,000 students and their families, the Davenport Community School District prepares young minds for success. Through academics, the arts, and athletics, we are growing excellence for every child. We work with the communities of Blue Grass, Buffalo, Davenport, and Walcott. With more than 3,000 employees, we are one of the top ten employers in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities. We employ more than 1,400 teachers, and more than half hold a master’s degree or higher. All teachers receive ongoing coaching and professional development by a staff of Curriculum and Instruction Specialists and other experts from around the nation. To learn more, please visit http://www.davenportschools.org/.
