Passport™ is
a comprehensive model program designed to help prepare highly motivated
young adults challenged with intellectual and learning disabilities
for careers and independence.
Passport's strategy
for success begins with a focus on the whole person in three critical
domains: academics, social and life skills, and workplace development.
It uses a curriculum with 52 sequenced
courses, an
alternative
assessment system, and culminates in an Associate in Essential
Studies degree.
Passport classes
are small, challenging, and experiential in nature,
with an emphasis on problem solving, cognitive
processing, teamwork, and the skills necessary
to transition to work and the community. We
believe that students can learn at different
rates and still reach their full potential, together,
when given the opportunity. Students are given
individual attention and typically will finish
requirements for the degree in three to four
years.
Passport was created
for individuals who have received extensive special education
services in K-12, and are considered higher functioning special
education students with diagnoses involving intellectual and
learning challenges. The program focuses on students who would
have difficulty navigating in a traditional college classroom
because most participants in this selective program generally
attain scores below the typical range on specific standardized
tests of intellectual ability and academic performance.
Functionally, the ideal candidate for the
Passport
Program
will have a an ability in the low-average to borderline range
of intelligence as measured by standardized I.Q. tests (70-90),
reading in the fifth to eighth grade level with math typically
lower. Most students are 18-25 and have had some work experience,
either volunteer or paid.
Students have a variety of diagnoses including those within
the autism spectrum, high functioning multiple learning
disorders involving reading, mathematics, and expressive writing,
and developmental or cognitive disabilities.
Passport
is not a match for all students and is not appropriate for
individuals diagnosed with severe mood disorders, conduct disorders,
or personality disorders.
Passport Program: Sampling of Core Courses
Academics
- Essential Reading and Writing: World Literature
- Learning Strategies
- Changing Surface of the Earth
- Math Skills
- Critical Thinking through Film
Social and Life Skills
- Conversations
- Brain Basics
- Nutrition and Personal Health
- Healthy Relationships
- Yoga
Workplace Development
- Problem Solvers in the Workplace
- Self Advocacy
- Conversations in the Workplace
- Computer Applications
- Field Experiences
ReThink Higher Ed's consulting
services include curriculum, an alternative assessment system,
and all other supporting materials.
