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BY MARTHA MARRAZZA

In print | Published October 20, 2005

As Swarthmore students line up to put away their trays, scraping off the last napkins or grabbing breakfast to go in the flurry before classes start, another group of students clad in neon yellow or orange shirts trickles into Sharples in their place.

Once breakfast in the dining hall winds down, students from a career training program work alongside regular dining service employees to wipe down tables, wash dishes and prepare for lunch under the direction and supervision of their job trainers.

In addition to the full- and part-time dining service workers employed by the college, disabled students with the Delaware County Intermediate Unit OPTIONS program help out with operations at Sharples on weekday mornings in order to assist them in mastering skills for a future career.

Drawn from all 15 school districts in Delaware County and between the ages of 16 and 21, students benefit from the observation and guidance that DCIU job trainers provide in the context of Swarthmore’s dining hall.

Barbara Burger, the supervisor of DCIU’s OPTIONS program, says the college’s welcoming attitude toward students in training has made the initiative successful.

“Swarthmore is among the first places we’ve had our job training program, but now we have about 11 others in Delaware County,” she said. “We have had students work in the bookstore, in the library, in the cafeteria or even on the grounds.”

“[The Swarthmore site] has had a major impact on our program. Students can’t learn these skills in the simulated environment of a classroom. Students are trained in employability skills, and many go on to be employed,” Burger said.

Students engaged in job training complete a number of activities in Sharples to gain work experience, Sharples Front of House Manager Therese Hopson says.

“They are high school students who come to work in the morning. They usually have hours of 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.,” she said.

“They mostly work in the dish room and clean tables after breakfast — it depends on their abilities. The job coaches work very closely with these students and direct them accordingly. If they can use a knife, then they will be given jobs that require that skill.”

Sharples Purchasing Director Janet Kassab credits Dining Service Director Linda McDougall with fostering the DCIU career-training program at Swarthmore, which has existed for the past 15 years.

“Linda McDougall is really committed to the DCIU program,” Kassab said. “She developed a huge part of what we do with them, and she’s worked with the DCIU for years.”

“Linda is definitely responsible for bringing the program to Swarthmore. I’m sure it had to be approved by the DCIU and by some higher-ups here, though,” she said.

McDougall’s involvement with the DCIU allows her to act as an intermediary between Swarthmore College’s dining hall and the directors of OPTIONS, Burger says.

“Linda has reached out to help these students, and she even developed a manual for the program. She’s done several presentations over the years, and she’s hired some of our students who are now adults,” Burger said. “Whenever we need a representative employer [for the program], we go through McDougall.”

While Swarthmore was one of the first places to open up job training opportunities to DCIU students, the OPTIONS program has expanded to a variety of sites, Burger says.

“We have 11 different sites in Delaware County, including programs at hospitals, retirement homes, a thrift shop and Haverford College,” she said.

The DCIU program acts as a means for training and assessment for those who participate. “It’s not limited to high school students, it’s a mix of ages. The job trainers decide what skills the students are good at, and then they are put in their position to work for an assessment,” Kassab stressed.

“They are not paid but more assessed with what their abilities can be for employment at other venues,” she said.

Based on positive job assessments, the college has even taken on some students from the DCIU program as full- or part-time workers, Kassab said. “Actually, we’ve hired quite a few employees through the program,” she said. “The program is really a great fit.”

While the Sharples staff seems to constantly change at different meal times, Hopson explained the intricacies of the different employee shifts, in addition to the DCIU morning group.

“We have part-time employees, some who work nights and/or weekends. They can be anyone from high school to college students, or people who just want to work part time. One employee is mother of three and works part-time,” she said.

“There are also full-time employees, who work from 6:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. and from 11:30 to 8:00, that you’ll see at lunch and dinner,” Hopson said.

Additionally, Swarthmore contracts the Extra Thorough Cleaners (ETC) group, run through the DCIU, to clean Sharples every night after dinner, Burger said.

“The ETC cleans the dining hall year round, students are paid and Swarthmore contracts with the DCIU for the service,” she says. “We always have a manager on site, and it’s their first job for many of the people employed.”

Often people will work with ETC for six months to a year and then go on to work in their community. Since it’s supervised employment, it’s like a stepping stone between job training and employment," Burger said.

Kassab praises the DCIU programs for their contributions to both Swarthmore and the DCIU students themselves.

“We have enough regular Sharples workers to get the job done without the DCIU, and we certainly don’t depend on those students who sporadically come in for assessment,” she said. “But it’s a hugely successful venture, a really good thing.”

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