Our Job Coach – Martha Taylor
Each of St. Lucie County High Schools has a job coach to assist ESE students. Martha Taylor is assigned to Port St. Lucie High School.
A job coach can be defined as someone to assist students with moderate and severe disabilities in supported competitive employment. A job coach walks students through all the components relating to the individual supported competitive employment process.
Job coaches also offer “follow along” services after students are placed in competitive employment.
Whether teaching the basics of filling out applications, to mock interviewing, going out into the community to volunteer, or educating employers on a student’s abilities, the job coach is available to help the students become successful in the workplace and the community.
The road to employment is often very long and frustrating. An experienced job coach first defines the needs of each student and evaluates their individual abilities. Many times activities provide the necessary tool to evaluate these abilities.
Some of the activities used are necessary to get a clear picture of each student’s needs and may include: providing community based instruction, community vocational based instruction, service learning projects , establishing inter-agency linkages and participating in many volunteer opportunities in the community.
