Postsecondary programs make college dreams come true
June 24th, 2009
From the Washington Times:
Twenty-three-year-old Melissa Gurman (left) says she “accomplished her college dream” when she graduated in May from George Mason University’s Learning Into Future Environments (LIFE) program, a postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities.
Students in the LIFE program learn independent living skills and take courses for basic literacy, math, and other subjects. The program costs $16,000 per year, not including room and board. The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act will soon help students with intellectual disabilities offset the costs of postsecondary education with federal loans or scholarships.
Debra Hart of the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts-Boston says some 200 similar programs have sprung up across the nation, most within the past 10 years. She says research suggests that students like Gurman who receive some form of postsecondary education are more likely to find a job and earn higher pay than peers who don’t.
(Washington Times photo)
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December 16th, 2009 at 12:12 am
I think this is great! I recently wrote an editorial concerning post-secondary education for intellectually disabled students. I think that this form of inclusion, (called “mainstreaming”) helps society recognize the academic potential of students with intellectual disabilities and see the value in these kinds of programs. Even if these students don’t receive any kind of academic agree, what’s more important is that they continue to partake in lifelong learning.