Start on Success

Community-based work experience through paid internships

Through collaboration between students, families, schools, community agencies, and employers, Start on Success (SOS) provides high school students with IEPs who are pursuing standard diplomas with a high quality work-based learning experience. Selected students enroll in a credit-bearing Career and Technical Education (CTE) course and then participate in a paid internship at a local business with an assigned mentor to assist with problem-solving, accommodations, and applying workplace readiness skills.

In Virginia, over seventy-five percent of SOS graduates engage in postsecondary education and training, military, and/or employment.

Start on Success Program Outcomes

The SOS school-to-work program is making a difference in changing the outcomes of students with disabilities.

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Start on Success Replication Guide

This free guide is designed to provide guidance in replicating the components of this highly successful school-to-work model.

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Start on Success Action Plan

The Start on Success Action Plan provides an outline of tasks to accomplish when developing an SOS program.

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Start on Success | Techniques, September 2021 (ACTEOnline.org)

A school and business collaboration model offering work-based learning for students with disabilities.

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Publications

Start on Success Marketing Flyer

VCU Start on Success in Action: An Employment Case Study

Start on Success

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