SamoCart, activity aimed to smooth transition into adult life, launches

On Monday, Nov. 4, the Samo special education office commenced SamoCart, an activity meant to smooth the transition into post-graduate life for special needs students. In the program, students are sent to shop for groceries by themselves, thereby practicing crucial life skills such as communication and budgeting. Lois Peters, a special education teacher at Samo running the program, came up with the idea for the activity after she used the popular smartphone app “Instacart.” The online company enables people to order groceries through an app, after which workers will buy and bring the ordered products to the door. In SamoCart’s case, teachers will be able to put in an order, after which a student will go out alone and shop for the desired groceries. This involves communicating with cashiers, counting money and navigating. The practice of these skills are aimed to help students get used to moving around the city by themselves and purchasing things of their own. In the weeks before the activity, preparations were running high in the classrooms.  “We worked on these skills beforehand, so they practiced putting things together and building things,” Peters said. Because federal law only allows special education to students ages 22 and under, students need to adjust to an independent lifestyle by the time they finish school. Samo’s Adult Transition Program provides support to students of ages 18-22 in this process, with a specialized curriculum aimed to advance the student’s independence. “[Our students] are able to learn life skills and get ready so that when they are done with our program they can have jobs in the community, know how to do their own budgeting and take care of themselves,” Peters said. In addition to activities such as SamoCart, students participate in a program called WorkAbility which allows them to prepare for their careers and interact with customers. The state-funded program was launched in 1985 and helps around 80 special education students yearly.  Students that are willing to learn good work behavior are given training in the classroom, after which they are employed at jobs in the Santa Monica community. Kelly Keith is the project manager of the program and oversees tasks such as the development of job sites and student training and placements. Before becoming a WorkAbility specialist, she taught at the Adult Transition program for 12 years. “[The Workability program] is particularly beneficial for all students with disabilities, as it provides a sense of accomplishment, shapes independent life skills and builds community awareness, all while providing a service to each organization,” Keith said. Currently, there are Samo students working at places such as pizza chains, comic book stores, the YMCA and T.J. Maxx. SamoCart will continue throughout the year and the special education department encourages all Samo teachers to participate in the activity.