Two Dobyns-Bennett students in Transition School to Work program sign with ETSU

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Dobyns-Bennett High School’s Transition School to Work program held its annual banquet on Monday where two students signed a letter of intent to attend East Tennessee State University (ETSU).

The Transition School To Work (TSW) program allows students with intellectual disabilities to take workshop classes to learn different life and job skills. The classes help them prepare for life after high school.

“And then also once they’re juniors and seniors, they sign up to go and do work-based learning, where we take them into the community and teach those job skills in the natural environment,” Jimmy Burleson, the Transition School to Work Coordinator, said.

Two of those students, Kreston Cantu and Landon Krantz signed to ETSU.

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“We learned a lot about working together and finding a way that you want to go work in your interests and your strengths at work,” Cantu said. “And talking about safety also at the work site.”

Cantu wants to study forestry at ETSU. He picked up skills at Bays Mountain Park, one of his job training sites.

“It can help you make things that you need to do around the house and stuff like that,” Cantu said. “And if you learn a lot about nature, it can help you survive out in the wild if you hike and stuff like that happens.”

Krantz wants to study coaching while at ETSU. He looks forward to going to Bucs football games and has already helped out the Tribe football team.

“Helped clean the locker room out this past year and it’s pretty fun,” Krantz said.

Access ETSU will work with Cantu and Krantz to help them gain the skills they need with career credit courses.

“We offer completely individualized support for accessing the curriculum,” Melody Blevins, Ed. D Project Manager for Access ETSU said. “They get to take classes that everybody else at ETSU takes that are related to their career. They can study with their peers. They can come to really fun events that we offer on campus. They get the full college experience just like their peers.”

Access ETSU also goes to other area high schools and tells them about the offerings available for students with intellectual disabilities after high school.

Each student in the TSW program was honored at the banquet. Every community partner that offered job training sites for students this past year were also honored.

Burleson said many students who have gone through the TSW program are employed with places where they job-trained.

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“Just recently we had three students hired at Holston Valley and Ballad Health and we had another student who’s going through the onboarding process at Food City right now,” Burleson said. “We’ve had students hired across Kingsport. Really, it just depends on the situation, but we’re very thankful that we have so many business partners willing to host us for work-based learning. But also they’re seeing the value in our program as well and how quality our students can be as employees, and they’re extending employment opportunities to them.”

Both Cantu and Krantz appreciate how the TSW program helped them.

“I will miss it,” Krantz said. “A lot of people I’ve known.”

“If you’re looking to [work] and finding your dream job, this is a good place to be for it,” Cantu said.

Burleson congratulates Cantu and Krantz and is thankful that they will be attending ETSU.

“They could not have picked two better ambassadors for our school and who will soon be ambassadors at ETSU,” Burleson said. “They are fantastic young men and so they’re going to go on to do great things. We’re very proud of them.”

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