NORWICH – Job skills, real life work experience and a paycheck are just some of the benefits a group of Norwich High School’s special education students are getting out of a new cooperation between the school and CWS.

“This is a really great opportunity,” Wanda Wallace told members of the district school board Monday night, as she gave a presentation of the CWS Work Site Program she has created for the juniors, seniors and “super” seniors in her Life Skills class.

The purpose of the program, she explained, is to help students transition into the workforce after they receive their IEP diplomas.

Wallace said she first contacted Lisa Berard, vice president of Rehabilitation for Chenango ARC, about initiating the program in June, when she learned she would be teaching the class for the first time.

“We got talking and it went from there,” she said. While it took time and effort to iron out the details – as well as getting support from parents, obtaining working papers for some students and releasing medical records – but it was well worth it, according to Wallace.

“This is the perfect meshing of school to work,” she said, and a win for both organizations.

Ten of Wallace’s 13 students currently participate in the pilot program, which is a first for both Norwich and CWS. The students spend a total of three hours a week working at the contract packaging company, which is divided into two mornings a week.

Students must not only exhibit “work-appropriate” behaviors and attitudes, but they must also comply with CWS’ dress code – which includes wearing a hairnets for some jobs.

Wallace accompanies the students on each work site day, as does her teaching assistant, Terri Woodard. She described it as a “very pleasant” work environment.

“When the time is up, they don’t want to leave,” Wallace said.

Since it is a paid internship, they do receive paychecks.

“They’re getting paid piece-rate,” explained Berard, and are therefore compensated based on what they produce.

While the paychecks they receive are small, Wallace said, for many it is the first money they’ve ever earned. And in some instances, it may even be the first paycheck brought in for their family in some time.