CLERMONT, Fla. — A Central Florida program is helping to make the connection between school and work for young people in high school with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

What You Need To Know

  • Project SEARCH is a one-year, school-to-work program for students in high school with intellectual and developmental disabilities

  • It allows those students to get real-world work training, giving them the skills and future to gain independence as they grow into adulthood

  • Project SEARCH is part of Magnify of Central Florida

The program is called Project SEARCH and it’s with Magnify of Central Florida.

Project SEARCH instructor Andrea Vineyard says she has worked hard to make a difference in her community.

"My ‘why’ is right here next to me," she said of one project participant. "Him and my seven other interns, my future interns, and my past interns. Those are all of my 'whys.'"

Vineyard has been teaching special education for nearly three decades before making the pivot from Lake County Schools to teaching life skills for a nonprofit called Magnify of Central Florida.

"I just saw that there was a need for students at this age to do something," she said. "It became my passion."

Project SEARCH is a one-year, school-to-work program for students in high school with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It allows students to get real-world work training to help them develop the skills they need to gain independence as they grow into adulthood. 

Vineyard said she wants the best for her interns, so even after they leave the program, they can be successful throughout their adulthood in a career they love.

"It’s so important for these students to be able to work and to be a productive member of society — not stay at home — and have a job," said Vineyard, "It’s not only that, it gets the community to accept inclusion and accept everyone for who they are."

For Vineyard, she helps her students focus on what they can do, rather than focus on their disability.

She said it’s not just the training these interns receive, it’s the ability to get hired after their internship. For Jacob, his internship at South Lake Hospital in Clermont turned into a coveted role working behind the scenes at the hospital’s cafeteria.

"It’s really amazing seeing them get out of their shell, be able to develop, and reach a higher potential," said Julio Ramirez, the director of Food & Nutrition at the Orlando Health South Lake Hospital.

Magnify of Central Florida has different programs throughout the region.