The Bridge Program at Las Cruces Public Schools is centered around providing post-graduation support to young adults with disabilities. The Bridge Program is a place for LCPS graduates to continue to learn and grow with the district even after they’ve earned their diploma. The program is designed for young adults 18-21, and focuses on life skills training, mentorship, and internships that lead to meaningful employment within the community.
Community partners such as New Mexico State University, Peter Piper Pizza, Allen Theatres, and Save Mart offer valuable internship experiences. Funding for the Bridge Program comes from individual high schools, while the New Mexico Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) provides monthly stipends. Fundraising efforts also help offset program costs.
Staff who work with young adults in the program empower students to navigate the city’s transportation system by learning bus routes, using dial-a-ride services, and managing their schedules for both work-based learning and personal responsibilities.
John Saucedo, a Special Education Teacher at Las Cruces High School, has witnessed the program’s steady growth over the past four years. Today, more than 80 students are enrolled.
“To get them to interact with so many people, and to gain the skills to hold real jobs and fully participate in our community, is an amazing transformation,” Saucedo said.
In addition to job training, Bridge Program staff assist students in obtaining driver’s licenses, and some participants are actively enrolled at Doña Ana Community College—achieving new milestones along the way.
Every week, Bridge Program students work at locations including NMSU’s Taos Café, Allen Theatres, and local senior centers. Their duties span the grocery, restaurant, and catering industries, cooking meals, resetting tables, washing dishes, stocking shelves, and practicing hospitality.
“The program is tremendously important,” added Saucedo. “The skills we’re teaching them—not just work skills, but social skills—can’t always be taught in a classroom. This is their final opportunity to learn these before entering the real world on their own.”
Nearly all Bridge Program participants earn their food handler’s license by passing all required safety tests to qualify for kitchen work. Each month, students prepare a weekly menu for central office staff. The meals they cook are made from scratch, following the recipe for the day. Before they begin cooking, students form an assembly line—just like in any restaurant kitchen.
The program’s weekly schedule reflects a strong commitment to practical learning and provides students with the skillsets necessary to work in any kitchen.
• Monday: Students practice recipes for the week and attend vocational classes covering life skills, money management, and interpersonal communication.
• Tuesday: Students sell food orders to LCPS Central Office staff. They distribute menus, take orders, communicate professionally, calculate needed ingredients, and go grocery shopping while staying within a set budget.
• Wednesday: Students prepare ingredients for orders.
• Thursday: Students work as a team on a production line to cook and assemble the meals. After delivering lunches to each department, they calculate their profits for the week.
“I love the program. I love my job. The people I work with are like family,” said Melissa Placencio, a one-on-one educational assistant with the LCPS Special Education Program. “They work so well with the kids. The on-the-job training is such a wonderful program for our students after graduation.”
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