This year the class of 2006 includes six young adults who have Down Syndrome. They will be attending classes as part of a program created and implemented by STRIVE University and USM. This program is the first of its kind in the nation.
If successful, this ground-breaking program could become a national model. Phone inquiries have begun coming in from places such as Virginia and California. STRIVE is waiting for data from the initial two programs before putting together a model structure officially.
According to press release from STRIVE, after high school “these [developmentally disabled] students require $45,000 annually in state-supported care and are often placed in group homes without competitive job training and independent-living assistance.” The $45,000 of state-support is a burden on taxpayers which the STRIVE program will attempt to alleviate. The program is designed to teach students the skills necessary to become contributing taxpayers and engaged community members upon graduation, thus decreasing the overall tax burden on Maine citizens and cultivating valuable lives for each student.
While the integration of the developmentally disabled into a post-secondary education system holds the promise of greater independence and reduced taxpayer burden, it remains to be seen whether traditional students will find the experience beneficial or if they will find they are held up by their new classmates.
USM Media Studies senior Miranda Valentine, 23, said that “regardless of whether the student is developmentally disadvantaged or not, it will be up to the teacher to ensure students are in a class that meets their education level and that they can keep up.” STRIVE Director, Peter Brown said, “They will pull their weight.” By matching the interests and skill levels of the individual student to the classes they select, STRIVE hopes to mitigate this potential.
Perhaps the biggest challenge these students will face is overcoming the stigmas they’ve become accustomed to facing. Christina described attending elementary and high school. “I got teased.” When asked how that felt about it, she responded, “horrible.” Being teased in college “is what I’m most scared about.”
STRIVE is a five-class program of study, yielding a Certificate in Lifelong Learning at its conclusion. The academic work is designed to teach students how to learn most effectively based on their learning style, thus preparing them to continue learning throughout their lives and careers.
During the first semester, students will take a class preparing them to successfully become part of campus life. Workshops on substance abuse, sexual education and career topics will provide them with social education in addition to their academics. According to Brown, “the goal is that in the second semester they’ll still have the seminar class which will be just the six STRIVE students, but they’ll also have the opportunity to audit other classes of their choosing, with support.”
The “independent living” aspect of the program has students living in a STRIVE-sponsored apartment in down-town Portland. There, they will learn skills to facilitate independent living. House rules mimic those of traditional dorm life.
Resident assistants are on-hand to answer questions, mediate conflict and enforce the well- known “no candles” rule. Students are encouraged to date and maintain social relationships outside the STRIVE U sphere with as much interruption as one might find were they living in Dickey-Wood Hall.
The final goal of the program, to teach students how to secure employment of value to the individual student, has the students talking about their future. Christina Malihot told The Free Press, “I want to be a secretary,” while Julie Jermann stated that she wanted to be both, “a teacher and a doctor.” STRIVE U will be providing students with a wide range of employment opportunities, including four paid internships.
To gain admission to the program, applicants were required to have graduated high school, or an equivalent program; fill out their own application as independently as possible; provide three letters of recommendation and to interview with a review committee. “I’m amazed by it [being selected]…. They see something in me I don’t see,” said Malihot.
Diane Russell can be contacted at