Inside the walls of Pitt Academy’s Postgraduate Program, located at 7515 Westport Road, participants are learning life-long skills — from how to read a food label to how to use an air fryer.
Pitt Academy’s Postgraduate Program has grown year by year, from three participants in 2018 to 22 students in 2024 — the biggest cohort yet.
Despite its growth, the administration admits that only a few in the community are aware of the school or the programs it offers.
“Not a lot of people know what we do here,” said Michelle Williams, assistant principal.
The answer is: A lot.
The two-year program, open to 18 to 24-year-old students with learning differences, has a four-pillar approach: Functional Academics, Employment/Vocational Training, Independent Living and Community Engagement.
Educators work with student learners and their families within these four pillars to build life skills, foster independence and achieve goals.
Students receive instruction in writing, reading, math and communication. The academic curriculum differs, depending on the needs of the students, and can range from skills like counting money to calculating taxes, said Amanda Martin, postgraduate program director.
Participants also learn independent living skills in an on-site instructional facility — such as how to comparison shop in the program’s instructional store, how to cook in the instructional kitchen, and how to do laundry in the instructional apartment.
Students are also learning other skills — such as how to grow plants in raised garden beds. Gardening is an independent living skill, said Martin, as it teaches how to grow food and how to take responsibility for a project.
Students are prepared for employment in the program, too. The academy partners with Bellarmine University’s Career Development Center to teach interview and resume-building skills. The program also hosts “Dress to Impress Day” each month, a day when students attend the program in business attire.
Participants learn retail training skills — from stocking the shelves to working the register — in the academy’s instructional store, created during the COVID-19 pandemic when the students were unable to visit businesses. Educators role-play workplace scenarios to help students develop skills that employers are looking for.
The postgraduate program also partners with businesses in the city, such as Kohls and Mission BBQ, to provide employment experience. The program is constantly adding new partners and adapting partnerships yearly, depending on the interests of the cohort. Some students have been employed by the partners upon completion of the program.
‘Everyone says they want to change the world, but we are changing their worlds. We’ve made a difference for them, and they are making a difference for themselves. The kids are putting in the work, educating the world’
Amanda Martin, postgraduate program director
To round out their life skills, the school also teaches students to give back to their community. Students engage in community service through such activities as serving people who are hungry at Franciscan Kitchen and collecting cans of food door-to-door in the school’s neighborhood for Dare to Care. Students are also educated daily about current events in the community, the nation and the world.
The students frequently go on outings as part of their community-based instruction.
Recently, the postgraduate students went to the Kentucky State Fair.
“The world is bustling and loud,” said Martin, so the intention was “to learn how to adapt and communicate with people” in that setting.
She said the field trips often offer the opportunity for students to speak to community members or employees of businesses, asking questions to guide the student’s learning experience.
Sometimes, these field trips educate the community, too, said Williams. She explained that, sometimes when a student asks a question out in the community, the community members will respond to the educator accompanying the student rather than the student.
This provides an opportunity for the community to learn that students can ask questions and receive answers for themselves.
“Everyone says they want to change the world, but we are changing their worlds. We’ve made a difference for them, and they are making a difference for themselves. The kids are putting in the work, educating the world,” said Martin.
To keep the program centered on the students’ needs, the educational team meets with students and their families for “vision meetings” to make individualized goals, enabling the students to plan their educational experiences.
Students and their families meet also with the postgraduate team throughout the year to discuss the students’ social, personal and employment goals and share achievements, she said.
“Everyone comes in at one level and leaves at a higher level,” said Martin. “We are all lifelong learners.”
While many students have entered the postgraduate program following graduation from 12th grade at Pitt Academy, several others are graduates of other public or private schools.
Whether they’ve attended school together for several years or have just met, the students seem to form a community quickly, Martin noted. Friendships between the participants continue outside of the classroom as the students plan weekend gatherings, as simple as seeing a movie with their families.
The students also learn to support one another, celebrating each other’s successes. “Learning to support others is a life skill,” said Martin.
So far, the program has 17 alumni, who can stay involved with Pitt during monthly social events, including cornhole tournaments and trips to the fair.
The joy among the students is tangible, explained Martin. “We come in every day with a smile and leave with a smile.”
