Students with disabilities build skills for life through local partnerships

Trinity L. was ready to get to work when she arrived at Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner on a Friday in February.

“I’m doing the labels,” she said. “I want to see how many I can do.”

Trinity likes putting labels on the coffee bags at Dillanos. She gets to help there as a student with the Community Based Transition Program (CBTP), a program through the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District that teaches life skills to special education students ages 18-22. The District partners with local businesses and organizations to offer internships to CBTP students, who are referred to as “interns.” 

A coffee manufacturer and supplier, Dillanos has a lot of manual packaging needs before they send off the coffee to customers. CBTP interns help them out – not only learning important job skills, but also giving back to their community.

“Having the materials prepared for us ahead of time saves us a lot of time,” said Dillanos Packaging Supervisor Alex Miller. “The team is super ecstatic and appreciates it a lot.”

The CBTP has been partnering with Dillanos for about three years, and it’s a mutually beneficial program. The team shows up to help every Friday.

“The interns have a great attitude,” said Chris Pugh, Dillanos warehouse supervisor. “They are happy to be here and to see people.” 

Bridging the gap

The Community Based Transition Program is part of the transition services offered by the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District.

The CBTP has been around for more than 25 years, successfully helping around 250 students with disabilities bridge the transition from high school to employment. These disabilities can include genetic or intellectual disabilities and can range widely.

In Washington state, qualified students are entitled to special education services until the day before their 22nd birthday. While many special education students graduate, there’s a small group of students who need more support. 

Michele Johnson and Erron Williams are both learning specialists who co-run the SBLSD Community Based program. To qualify for the program, Michele said that students must have met all high school credits, finished assessments, and still require the need for special education services.

While in Community Based, interns focus on learning independent living and vocational skills. Michele loves working with the interns and watching them grow. 

“These kids are amazing, to watch them learn and grow and tap into that potential that they have – I love it,” said learning specialist Michele Johnson, who co-runs the program.  

CBTP by the numbers:

• 25 years of CBTP program
• 250 interns helped over 25 years
• 29 interns for 2024-25 school year
• 18 partners for 2024-25 school year

Learning life skills

This year, the program supports around 30 interns. Every week, they travel to different businesses and organizations in Sumner and Bonney Lake to learn work skills. 

Those work skills can range from hard skills like stocking shelves, sweeping and facility maintenance, to soft skills like teamwork, leadership and adaptability. Interns also work to increase their level of independence while at job sites.

Through Community Based, Trinity said she has learned about different types of work, budgeting, and generally how to be an adult. 

Andrew W. has been an intern for three years. He likes to work at Dillanos because he operates the electric floor sweeper to keep the floor clean and tidy in the up and down the halls of the Dillanos warehouse. He helps keep the warehouse tidy and the floors clean for the forklift drivers.

“I would like to do something like this,” Andrew said when asked what type of job he was interested in. “You learn how to communicate and be flexible, learn hard skills and soft skills. I enjoy the work.”

The skills that interns develop at their job sites help them at jobs after they leave the district program. So far, CBTP interns have landed jobs at local places like Fred Meyer, Hops n Drops and Round Table, to name a few.

Partnerships

The Community-Based Transition Program partners with about 19 businesses and organizations this year. That includes Dillanos and also Grocery Outlet in Bonney Lake.

“They’re great at working as a team,” James Byun, owner of Grocery Outlet in Bonney Lake, said about the interns. “They work really well together.”

At Grocery Outlet, interns help stock the freezers and organize products in aisles.

“Some of the sites you have to do different things I’ve never done before, like Grocery Outlet,” said intern Becca C. “Community Based wants to help you with real life, to prepare you for the outside world.”

James has had two Community Based interns join the Grocery Outlet staff. Chris and other staff at Dillanos say they are looking forward to the day when a CBTP intern gets a job with them. 

“The times they’re not here, we miss them,” said Chris.

Personally, Alex loves to get to know the interns while they work at Dillanos, whether that’s talking with them about their hobbies or watching them grow professionally. 

“We hope to keep the program growing,” he said. “I know we have other departments within the company that are excited to also partake in this. It's just been a great partnership and hopefully we keep the teamwork going for years to come.”