COVINA, CA – Covina-Valley Unified School District’s Adult Transition Program (ATP) is helping students at Mt. San Antonio College gain hands-on experience working with people with disabilities, allowing them to develop the skills they need for a career as a psychiatric technician (PT).

In their introductory courses, Mt. SAC students focus on a curriculum that encompasses biological, psychological, social, medical, and behavioral characteristics of developmental disabilities and etiologies. These students are then presented with the opportunity to intern with Covina-Valley Unified, where they help ATP students both in the classroom and with their community-based instruction.

“We are proud to offer this unique opportunity to help Mt. SAC students in the pursuit of their PT certification,” ATP principal Rebecca Handzel said. “I go into our classrooms and see the PT interns playing Uno with our students and helping them work toward their various communication goals; it’s amazing. Our partnership with Mt. SAC is an incredible program for both the PT interns and our ATP students.”

Students in the ATP benefit from the Mt. SAC partnership by gaining access to extra adults in the classroom, fostering relationships, and obtaining additional support. The interns also assist ATP students in practicing social communication skills, pragmatic language skills, conflict resolution principles, and more.

The partnership also allows Mt. SAC PT students to construct aspects of their knowledge through hands-on learning in a real-world environment. This aims to create stronger competencies in learning skills and better prepare the students to provide the highest quality of care possible.

“By working with our ATP students, Mt. SAC interns are able to interact and learn from a select population that they might not otherwise have access to,” Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Eminhizer said. “We are honored to be partnered with such an incredible program, and we love seeing all the great work Mt. SAC PT interns are accomplishing with our students.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

CVUSD_ATP1: A Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) student training to be a psychiatric technician (PT) smiles with a Covina-Valley Unified Adult Transition Program (ATP) student. Through their partnership with Covina-Valley Unified, Mt. SAC PT students gain first-hand experience working with ATP students both in the classroom and with their community-based instruction.

CVUSD_ATP2: A Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) student training to be a psychiatric technician (PT) helps a Covina-Valley Unified Adult Transition Program (ATP) student in the classroom. In addition to classroom support, Mt. SAC PT interns also assist ATP students in practicing social communication skills, pragmatic language skills, conflict resolution principles, and more.