More than 900 students from across Chester County graduated from the Child and Career Development Center (CCDC), Communities Helping Adolescents with Autism Make Progress Program (CHAAMP), the CCIU Learning Center and the three Technical College High School (TCHS) campuses.

Each of these programs is operated by the Chester County Intermediate Unit on behalf of its 12 member school districts.

The students of the CCDC, Learning Center, and CHAAMP program graduated together at the Child and Career Development Center in Coatesville. The diplomas were received by 13 CCDC students, 28 Learning Center students, and three CHAAMP students.

The CCDC provides programs for autism support, emotional support, learning support, life skills support, and multiple disabilities support to K-12 students. At CCDC, most of the programs have a common goal of increasing skills and dexterity necessary for post-graduate living.

Walking across the stage that day, it was quite evident that the students were proud of their accomplishments.

Advertisement

“The students have fought very hard for every bit of progress they have made,” said Principal Susan Mateka. “Not a single achievement has come easily and without perseverance.”

The CCIU Learning Center provides academic and vocational education programs to middle and high school students with special education needs. Similarly, CHAAMP provides a community-based instructional program to students with autism spectrum disorders.

More than 880 graduates from TCHS’s Brandywine, Pennock’s Bridge, and Pickering campuses received their high school diploma from their sending school, but were honored for completing their program requirements in one of TCHS’s 28-plus career and tech programs, which are centered around the arts, STEM, and skilled trades.

“A lot of high schoolers go to college not knowing what they want to be,” said Alexa Forbes, a cosmetology graduate of TCHS Brandywine. “We are given the opportunity to discover who we are.”

Click here to learn more about the TCHS campus nearest you.