PAES Lab: What it’s doing for the CCHS community

PAES Lab at CCHS
PAES Lab Co-Facilitator Ms. Hoerup assisting a PAES Lab student with instructional materials.

Learning new pathways for employment can be a challenge for any student. At CCHS, the school is currently offering the PAES Lab for the district’s special education program. PAES, which stands for Practical Assessment Exploration System, is specifically designed to assist students with opportunities to learn the necessary skill sets to become employed in today’s economy. Special education students learn various proficiencies in a number of occupations, such as: plumbing, hotel and service industries, restaurants and much more. This is the first year that the program is being offered by CCHS and is overseen by PAES Lab Co-Facilitators Ms. Hoerup and Ms. DonVito.

“We are fortunate to offer his unique and positive instructional program for our special education students,” said PAES Co-Facilitator Pam Hoerup. “The opportunity to learn real world skill sets and apply them to potential employment opportunities is priceless. We have established a program that offers encouragement and a structured process to allow students to learn at a pace that’s comfortable for them. We are also pleased to work with community-based companies to allow our students to transfer those skills to a regional workplace. It benefits everyone involved.”

PAES Lab instruction at CCHS.
PAES Lab Co-Facilitator Ms. DonVito working with a student on a recent lab project.

Stay tuned as the district will feature participating PAES Lab students that are taking advantage of this program and report on their progress.