Robin Matusow

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS OF CONNECTICUT friendship for individuals with special needs

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:27:45 GMT

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS OF CONNECTICUT

friendship for individuals with special needs

Circle of Friends, Connecticut
reaches out to children, teens & young adults/adults with autism & disabilities & involves them in a full array of inclusive social experiences. Our innovative programming of home visits, play dates and social interactions, is designed to foster a relationship between children with special needs and community teenage volunteers.
In addition to helping families in need, Circle of Friends empowers and enriches its network of volunteers (the majority of whom are teenagers) by enabling them to reap the vast rewards of participating in a program that strengthens their personal connections to the community by giving back to the community.

Disabled students in documentary remind prospective employers ‘I am Like You’

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:15:55 GMT

Disabled students in documentary remind prospective employers ‘I am Like You’

As guests piled into Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami Wednesday for the premiere of a compelling short film about people with disabilities and autism in the workforce, a connection was felt between all.

I am Like You showcases a selection of Miami Dade County Public School students who are trained and talented bakers, some of whom now work at Publix and Winn-Dixie, and happen to have disabilities.

The short film, directed by Arturo Sande, was filmed by his class at the Center of Cinematography Arts & Television, and edited by a high functioning autistic person, Brendan Santidrian. As the title states, the film is a way to showcase the talents of a very special group of adults who work hard and want to live independent lives.

The film begins with the back story of how Robin Matusow, who ran a Miami-Dade Schools adult disabilities program, was asked to develop a program to help autistic and disabled students find jobs in the real world.

The J.R.E. Lee Baking Program was created as a part of a superintendent’s initiative. Matusow found Pedro Diaz, a renowned and experienced baker, who felt that he had a predisposition to teach students with disabilities how to bake .

“We knew that a program was surely needed,” Matusow said. “After the first week, it was like a match made in heaven. We absolutely knew it would work and thrive.”

The courage of students and parents to try something new and put up with total changes in their environment shows that they really want to work. The six-month production of the short film showcases just that.

Diaz created a special color-coordinated recipe method for his students to understand and learn how to create a whole gamut of baked goods such as cookies, cakes, Cuban flan, and many others. He taught them with “patience and love,” the program’s motto.

Miami-Dade Schools "Working" toEnhance Employment Opportunities

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:15:55 GMT

Miami-Dade Schools "Working" toEnhance Employment Opportunities

Miami Dade County Public Schools JRE Lee Baking Program fills a gapbetween community and education with hope. The current FloridaDepartment of Education culinary curriculum has been revised toinclude multi-year industry certification level skills that may not meetthe needs of some adult students, particularly students with disabilities.Many may not, in the new curriculum, be able to reach a level of skillnecessary for industry certification. Although determined eligible andapproved for training and employment services, appropriate formalemployment training options are limited.

As a result, many students are unable to continue the requiredemployment training after leaving high school. In response tocommunity needs, requests from the Division of VocationalRehabilitation (VR) and a desire to provide all students withpostsecondary educational opportunities that lead to employment,Miami-Dade County Public Schools has developed a program designedto provide post-secondary employment training for adults withdisabilities. Started as a result of a Superintendent’s initiative in Januaryof 2014, this is a vocational program that trains adults with disabilitieson how to bake pastries; but in actuality it is so much more. In about ayear, with concepts memorized and critical life skills mastered, thestudents will be ready for a workplace that values their proficiency, ANDtheir differences.

The students are taught industry standard baking skills needed to workat a bakery or in a bakery environment. This is an incredible opportunityfor all students to participate in a major activity of every adult’s life - togo to work. Many of these students struggle to read and write, but all have the ability to learn in the right setting. Also included in the programis instruction on work culture, job interviewing and how to appropriatelyinteract with co-workers and supervisors. To teach students recipes, acolor and measurement system has been developed that convertsstandard industry information into recipes that the students can master.The system is designed to start with color and end with standardmeasuring, and reading for those who can. For those who cannot, VRhas agreed to provide the tools necessary to “convert” any employer’swork environment into the color system.

The current instructor, Jose Fuentes, continues the program with chefexperience and guest experts. These experts include Sue Ward, RetailStaffing Specialist for Publix who will be teaching lessons oninterviewing skills, and Nhorah de la Pava, internationally recognizedcake designer, who will be teaching skill enhancement such as the useof fondant.

As a result of the individualized and targeted instruction the studentshave received, many of the graduates have been hired in commercialbakeries including Winn Dixie, Publix and Miami is Kind.

Provided by Jill Brookner and Robin Matusow of Miami-Dade CountyPublic Schools

Robin Matusow

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS OF CONNECTICUT friendship for individuals with special needs

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS OF CONNECTICUT

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Disabled students in documentary remind prospective employers ‘I am Like You’

Disabled students in documentary remind prospective employers ‘I am Like You’

Miami-Dade Schools "Working" toEnhance Employment Opportunities

Miami-Dade Schools "Working" toEnhance Employment Opportunities

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