It’s the 50th state to see some adult career school systems adopt Project Life, which was created by the Butler County career school system, which provides instructional learning opportunities to more than 18,000 adult and high school students in our region and beyond.
Butler Tech officials recently announced their home-grown program has “achieved a powerful trifecta: The 50th replication of the program, in Hawaii, the 50th state to join the United States, during Butler Tech’s 50th anniversary” which is being celebrated this year.
“The milestone is taking place nearly 4,500 miles away on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where Kailua High School launched the 50th replication of Project LIFE, a program created right here at Butler Tech,” said career school officials.
Butler Tech’s Project LIFE Replication Coordinator, Shawn Hoff, recently traveled to Hawaii to train the Kailua High School team and support their implementation and he knew right away they were ready for the challenge.
“This group is going to be phenomenal,” said Hoff. “They were always one step ahead. Even during training. Where I usually have to walk folks through the tools and systems, this team was already doing it before I told them what to do.”
For Hoff, who has overseen replications in districts large and small across the country, this launch in Hawaii was significant.
“We’re celebrating 50 years of Butler Tech. This is the 50th replication. And it’s happening in the 50th state,” Hoff said. “That symbolism is special. But more than that, it’s another chance to fulfill our mission. Helping students step into the next phase of their lives with confidence and independence.”
Butler Tech officials said its Project LIFE’s “structured curriculum, measurable outcomes, and a customizable replication model, has seen the program expanded far beyond Ohio.”
Since 2017, districts across the country have adopted Butler Tech’s national replication model to meet local needs while maintaining the program’s core values: empowering special needs adult and high school students with resources, confidence and real-world readiness to thrive.
According to Butler Tech officials, the Kailua High School team was no stranger to career readiness.
“They had already developed on-campus job training programs through their Ready to SURF Academy, including school-based enterprises like coffee and hand-made creations that launched during the pandemic. But the missing piece was the bridge to the community and the structure to track the transition process through the Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
“We’re good at getting the students into off-campus opportunities,” said Kailua officials. “But what does that look like when it comes to the IEP? How do you align those experiences to actual goals and objectives?”
Shari Ikeda, Kailua High Project LIFE Coordinator/Teacher and School-Based Enterprise Coordinator, described the Butler Tech program as “amazing.”
“This is what parents want to see (and) I don’t have to build it from scratch,” said Ikeda.
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