Over the years, Continental Project has garnered attention for it's unique concept, collaborations, and success.
In 1999, the National Association for Career & Technical Education named Continental Project the "Outstanding Vocational Special Needs Program" for the country.
In 2003, The US Department of Education, through the Transition Coalition, named Continental Project a "Model of Success", urging replication for school districts across the country.
Two of Continental Project's premiere business partners (Continental Country Club and Bill McGrath, General Manger of Flagstaff JC Penney) have been named "Employer of the Year" through the National Council of Exceptional Children.
After researching transition programs world-wide, Australia's Ministry of Education representative spent a week with us in 2009, taking our methods, assessments & delivery model back to her country for replication.
Stephanie Rust, through her work with the students and families of Continental Project, was named Arizona Daily Sun "Flagstaff Citizen of the Year-2004".
Upon his retirement in 1995, Stephanie followed his collaborative lead and slowly found a way to continue without his daily wisdom, guidance & humor. Our singular purpose in this program design is to help students with special learning needs gain the work adjustment and interpersonal skills critical for job retention. We do this in partnership with seven local businesses who allow us access to their entry level jobs as the training sites for our students. In these sites our students learn not only the skills needed for the specific jobs, but they also refine and polish the behaviors research has told us are critical for keeping a job. Our students receive high school credit for their work as well as an hourly wage based on their individual level of productivity. They often come to us with little sense of their skills or talents, having spent years focusing on their disability-related weaknesses. We have a substantially different philosophy, for we start with our student's strengths, and help them realize how those skills have value in the labor market. Then, utilizing Mrs. Rust's skills as a nationally Certified Vocational Evaluator, we alert them to their behavior patterns which will likely cause them to struggle as an adult; offering to help them if they are ready to make changes and polish 'those old bad habits'. It doesn't take long before our students find relevance in all they do . . for now they are acutely aware that every change they make brings another layer of success.
