Waltrip High School students work at Garden Oaks Montessori with their transition coach and the Garden Oaks cafeteria team lead.

Through HISD’s Community Based Vocational Instruction (CBVI) program, high-school students can go into local businesses for a couple hours a day, a few of times a week, to develop their workplace skills through on-the-job training.

For the first time this year, HISD’s Nutrition Services department is one of the partnering organizations, and it is working with two or three students from each of five high schools: Lee, Madison, Scarborough, Sharpstown, and Waltrip. Participating students learn about the food service industry by working in school cafeterias, performing tasks such as washing dishes or serving fruit.

“The kids are really excited about this opportunity and we hope to grow the program and have all 40 high schools in the district participating,” said Nutrition Services Operations Director Raymond George, who is spearheading this partnership with the Office of Special Education.

Nutrition Services has already received about 30 student applications for positions during the 2015–2016 school year.

The experience also prepares students for jobs after high school. The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitation Services regularly hosts a transition job fair with more than 60 prospective employers.