Career Independence is open to students with varying vocational and academic needs who are a junior or seniors in high school as well as approved post-high students. The students must show a strong desire to gain employment upon graduation from high school and have the opportunity to participate in career exploration activities, workplace skills preparation, and practice learned skills at a work site. Students should be willing to work and show a good attendance history. Work experience in the community, whether paid or unpaid, should be an integral part of every student's school-to-work transition experience.

The Career Independence Program consists of a full-time certified instructor/work experience coordinator and a job coach. Students obtain hands-on training and on-the-job experience. Transportation to the job site is provided by the program. Students have days that they stay in the classroom and learn vocational skills, such as completing applications, participating in interviews, writing resumes, leadership skills, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal skills. 

All students can benefit from exposure to the workplace as they plan their high school careers. Work-based learning offers a highly effective way to help students build valuable career skills and introduce them to life beyond high school. Our emphasis is on the development of non-paid job sites, especially for students in the early stages of training. As students approach graduation, increased emphasis is placed on developing paid sites.

Our goal is to prepare students for community integration and paid employment. By linking schools and workplaces, students will be prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We focus on teamwork, punctuality, cooperation, interpersonal communication, attendance, introduction to the world of work, positive relations between students and their community, career connection between school and work-based learning, and heightening awareness of the need for a continued education and business alliance.