Director of Tech-Now training program for students with disabilities earns presidential Champions of Change award
Tech-Now President and CEO Rick DeRennaux earned a Presidential Champions of Change Award recognizing the success of his technology skills and career training program, which has helped 2,200 Oklahoma students with disabilities. Students in the program have a 97 percent graduation rate compared to a 56 percent rate for students with disabilities at the national level.
OKLAHOMA CITY –Tech-Now Inc. President and CEO Rick DeRennaux was recently selected for a Presidential Champions of Change Award for making advanced technology and employment skills fun and relevant for 2,200 Oklahoma students with disabilities.
“Tech-Now targets the specific skills students need most to pursue additional education and the specific jobs they want,” DeRennaux explained. “We teach them to associate performance with compensation – to believe in themselves -- which prepares our students for gainful employment, so they can make it on the job in the real world.”
Tech-Now students have an impressive 97 percent graduation rate, compared to a 56 percent rate for students with disabilities at the national level.
DeRennaux currently directs Tech-Now in 27 high and middle schools throughout Oklahoma relying on grant funding from the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), and public and private gifts.
In 2011, DRS stepped up with increased financial support after the Oklahoma State Department of Education was unable to continue funding. The remaining budget shortfall forced DeRennaux and his wife and program specialist Sherri to downsize from seven to three staff.
“As the employment agency for Oklahomans with disabilities, DRS has the same ultimate goal as Tech-Now and we’re proud to invest in any program that has a 97 percent graduation rate,” DRS Director Michael O’Brien, Ed. D. said. “We want gainful, productive employment for people who get the job done right for their employers – people who become taxpayers and are no longer dependent on disability benefits and social services.”
Tech-Now was originally funded in 1999 by the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council.
Students with disabilities are eligible to participate if they have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which is a plan describing educational goals and the support needed to achieve them. Participants may also have a 504 plan under provisions of the federal Rehabilitation Act, which lists accommodations needed for a student with disabilities to perform at the same level as non-disabled students.
“What employers on our advisory council tell us is, ‘I can teach the kids how to do a job, but what I can’t teach them is how to work with others, how to be a leader, how to take responsibility for their part of the process,’” DeRennaux explained.
Students begin by exploring their preferences for future employment and researching the education and skills required to succeed in those jobs.
They build confidence one step at a time as they learn to proficiently operate desktop publishing, computer animation and digital media production programs using curriculum that DeRennaux wrote with input from business, education and state agency advisors.
Tech-Now students work in teams to create and produce products for sale, such as race cars, lapel buttons, jewelry, purses and sports cards featuring local high school athletes.
“We want students to practice being an employee – being a good employee—so we teach them how to make a real product,” DeRennaux explained. “They keep track of how much time they put in, what the cost of making it is and how much money they want to make per hour.”
The team-based approach encourages students to practice soft skills, such as leadership, conflict resolution and time management, which move them closer to obtaining the specific jobs they want.
Fifty percent of former Tech-Now students reported they were employed, while the other 50 percent were continuing in post-secondary programs, according to a recent study.
Among those in educational programs, 25 percent were in Career Technology schools; 50 percent were in community colleges; and 25 percent were enrolled in colleges or universities.
Students who were surveyed also reported that their Tech-Now experience resulted in higher self-esteem and confidence in their abilities and skills.
More than 95,000 Oklahoma students – approximately 15 percent -- are receiving special education services.
For more information about Tech Now, contact Rick DeRennaux at tech-now@hotmail.com or visit http://www.nauxware.com/Page5.html.