According to the Kentucky Special Education Child Count Dashboard, 17% of students statewide had an individualized education plan last year, and officials report that number reflects a variety of physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities. The Kentucky Educational Development Corporation's (KEDC) third annual Reverse Career Fair, hosted by the Special Education Regional Technical Assistance Center (SERTAC), aims to serve this population.
In contrast to a typical career fair, prospective students at the KEDC’s Reverse Career Fair are stationed at tables, and potential employers rotate between the stations. These students are high school seniors with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities.
Greta Stanfield is an Educational Consultant with SERTAC. She said many of the participants are already college bound, and the event doesn’t only line them up with jobs. It also aims to enhance their public speaking, interview, and networking skills.
“This is the time we prepare them to spread their wings and transition out of high school, and we hope successfully. And the first year we did it, our goal was that at each regional fair, at least one student would leave with a possible job opportunity. We left with more,” said Stanfield.
Stanfield said one of the organization’s biggest challenges has been getting employers to understand the various ways disability may present in students. After the employers attend once, they keep coming back, but she added they're still working to shift public perception.
“They think of somebody in a wheelchair, or they think of somebody with Down syndrome, because they have such pronounced facial structures,” said Stanfield. “And it’s more than that, you know, it’s more than somebody that’s blind. We have kids who are learning disabled, and you can’t tell that by looking at them. They may have just a math disability or a reading disability.”
The event will take place at Rowan County’s Maysville Community and Technical College campus on April 10 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Another session will also be held at ACTC Technology Drive in Ashland on April 15. More information on the Reverse Job Fair, as well as employer registration, is available at the KEDC website.