……………. serving special needs students since 1979
Mt. Sinai Hospital is one of our oldest community based training sites. Students have participated in a variety of work activities through the Volunteer Office since 1992: packing gauze for surgical use, document shredding, delivering mail, and most recently in Medical Records, setting up in-take folders for new patient admissions. A much anticipated and appreciated benefit is subsidized access to the employee cafeteria at the end of the students’ work shift.
For Directions: View map
The Main Instructional Building and Annex on the campus of River Street School provide a variety of non-bench work training opportunities, most for students who are able to work with reduced or no direct supervision.
Students collect mail from the central mail box area daily and distribute to classroom and clinical staff.
White paper to be recycled is collected twice a week from both the Main Building and the Annex and brought to the Campus Work Center where it is shredded and bagged for delivery to the West Hartford Puppy Center to be used as animal bedding.
Plants throughout the Main Building are cared for twice a week, once for watering and once for “grooming” (removing dead leaves and branches, cleaning the leaves).
Coolers with soda and bottled water are set up and stocked daily in the kitchen and moved to the Main Office where they are available for purchase by staff and visitors.
The Campus Work Center
The Campus Work Center, located in the Vocational Building, provides a range of activities including bench tasks, both simulations and real jobs from local businesses, as well as building maintenance and clerical tasks.
Bench Tasks:
Bench tasks involve a variety of basic skills, including the use of small hand tools (manual and electric screw drivers, wrenches) for assembly, disassembly, sorting, weighing (digital scale) and packaging tasks.
Clerical Tasks:
Clerical tasks include collating, folding (by hand and by folding machine), stapling, removing staples, stuffing envelopes, sealing envelopes, labeling, affixing postage stamps, stamping, sorting mail and document shredding (electric paper shredders)
Building Maintenance:
Building maintenance centers around cleaning and stocking the 3 bathrooms located in the Vocational Building.
River Street School Vocational students have worked at the Foodshare warehouse facility since November 2007. Students help inspect and prepare donated food for shelving and distribution. Donated candy is inspected for intact packaging and then placed in ziplock bags and full bags are then placed into cartons. Bread which comes in in crates is boxed to be sent to a variety of locations. Cans of fruit, sauce and vegetables are inspected. Cans without any damage are boxed to be sent out. Cans with minor damage (small dents) are placed on shelves for shopping by organizations and individuals. Cans that have greater damage are set aside for use by local farmers as animal feed.
For directions: View map
The State of Connecticut Fire Academy has hosted students from River Street School since the summer of 2004. Previously, work from the Fire Academy was done by students in the Campus Work Center. Different groups of 3-4 students with 2-3 staff travel to the Fire Academy two days a week in the afternoon. At the Fire Academy, students with have indoor and outside assignments. Indoors, our students do light maintenance in the classroom area, wiping down tables and chairs, putting chairs up. When they go outside, they assist with light maintenance on the fire trucks, polishing glass and chrome.
The Fire Academy is often one of the first work work sites for students new to community based programming.
For directions: View Map
CVS at 90 Main Street, Windsor Locks, CT 06096
CVS has provided groups and individual River Street School students with work training opportunities at a variety of locations since the summer of 2002. Several students have progressed to independent work placements under the supervision of store staff, with one transitioning to employment with the company at graduation. The CVS at 90 Main Street in Windsor Locks is the current active location. Students assist with facing and stocking of product.
For directions: View Map
A warm welcoming site, South Whitney Pizza and Grinder has provided work opportunities for RSS vocational students since 1997. Two or three days a week students assist South Whitney in making up supplies of pizza boxes for take out orders.
One of the perks of the South Whitney site, in addition to the warm welcome RSS students receive, is a pizza to take back for lunch at the end of each work session.
For directions: View Map
Beverly Hills Limousine has hosted River Street School students since 2002. Students are responsible for washing vehicles inside and out, polishing leather upholstery, and cleaning windshields. At times, they also sweep the shop area and vacuum the reception area.
Beverly Hills very graciously provided our graduates in 2007 who had worked there with a ride for their entire classes in Beverly Hill’s new VIP Luxury Party Bus.
For directions: View Map
As part of the River Street School Vocational Program, select students have had the opportunity to work at the Bloomfield Gold’s Gym site since 2003. Three mornings per week we have students perform a variety of janitorial duties.
Our students are responsible for cleaning and sanitizing the men’s locker room , dusting all exercise equipment, sanitizing tanning beds, and mopping the gym floor as needed. The work is performed by small groups of students or by individual students under the supervision of Vocational Department staff, or by an individual student under the supervision of Gold’s staff when a student has reached the necessary level of independence. We have had several students who have transitioned from an individual traineeship to being hired by Gold’s Gym during their River Street School careers. One graduate has continued to work since graduation at a different Gold’s Gym facility based on success at and the recommendation of the Bloomfield staff.
For locations/directions: View Map
Harvey and Lewis Opticians, with retail sites throughout the Greater Hartford area, has provided integrated training sites for River Street School vocational students since 1998. The Hartford, West Hartford and Glastonbury stores provide regular weekly work opportunities for our students here at River Street School. The students perform light cleaning tasks including restroom fixtures, vacuuming and mopping the tiled floors, as well as dusting, replacing paper products and emptying trash receptacles. The fixtures gleam when the RSS crew is ready to leave. Clean glass doors, glass displays, mirrors and a well-vacuumed entry greet the customers when they arrive thanks to our students. Starting in July 2008, a new Enfield Mall store will be added to those where RSS students work.
Students learn the proper use of a variety of non-caustic cleaning products. They are encouraged to follow a dress code to best represent both the company and RSS since it is a storefront frequented by customers. Students are taught to be aware of the surroundings and not vacuum when the phones are in use or customers are being fitted for glasses.
Ideal candidates for vocational training at this site are those willing to perform cleaning tasks, be physically mobile, be courteous and respectful to customers and store employees.
For location/directions:
Hartford store: View Map
West Hartford store: View Map
Glastonbury store: View Map
