SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today that the 2008 Grazer Outstanding Achievement in Learning (GOAL) Award was presented to the Centinela Valley Union High School District Transition Services program located in the Los Angeles County town of Lawndale.

"The Centinela Valley Union High School District Transition Services program should serve as a model of high expectations that all schools should emulate," said O'Connell. "The program's unique three-tiered program is designed to provide a seamless transition of services that meet the needs of special education students with job training and by teaching them the skills they need to help them live independently."

"The success of the program is largely due to the collaboration of the California Department of Rehabilitation's Transition Partnership Program, the California Department of Education's WorkAbility Program, and the high school's Adult Transition Program," said Susan Sklar, program coordinator for Centinela's program. "The program has the support of the district administration and we have a fantastic, hard working staff," added Sklar who has been employed with the district since 1974.  

Part of the services provided by the GOAL awardee is the Transition Partnership Program that shares the same space on the school district's campus as the adult school. The program provides special education students from eleventh and twelfth grade and beyond, access to permanent unsubsidized employment, services and placement for non-diploma bound students, and access to the federally-subsidized WorkAbility Program that provides services and subsidized training to students aged 14 to 22. These services include pre-employment training, a weekly job club, and a comprehensive coordinated and reciprocal referral and intake process between all programs and staff.

The California Advisory Commission on Special Education created the GOAL Award in 2005-06 and was awarded for the first time in 2006. The award is named after Hollywood producer Brian Grazer, who donated $100,000 over a 10-year period toward the program designed to recognize exemplary practices in the field of special education and to celebrate programs that serve California youth with disabilities and the professionals who provide these services.

For more information, about the Commission, please visit Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE)