BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:Giving graduates a chance

COSTA MESA — Jorge Wandique felt nervous on his first day of work. The Costa Mesa High School graduate hadn’t held a job before commencement, and when he put on a Henry’s Market uniform for the first time and bagged groceries, he wasn’t sure how well he could make the transition from school to the workplace.

Wandique, however, had a support team watching him closely. A special-needs student, he had gotten his job at Henry’s through the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s T2 Cooperative Program, which places former students in jobs and monitors them for up to 90 days. As Wandique bagged groceries and moved carts, Newport-Mesa staff members consulted with his bosses about his work ethic, his punctuality and his skills as a team player.

“You make good friends,” said Wandique, 18, who plans to attend Orange Coast College in the fall. “They teach you to be responsible. I learned not to be lazy, too.”

Henry’s, at 3030 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, is one of a number of local businesses that accept students out of Newport-Mesa’s special education program. Staff members work with the former students on job skills, consult with district administrators on their progress, even offer them rides home if it’s too late to take the bus.

Henry’s manager Jim O’Connor takes about half a dozen transitional students at any given time. He’s been a part of the program for five years and often watches proudly as his employees push themselves to new levels.

“You’ve got to give them a chance, is what I say,” O’Connor said.

Among the other businesses that hire former Newport-Mesa students are Ross, TJ Maxx and Armstrong Garden Centers. Tom Snyder, the manager of Armstrong in Newport Beach, said he recently hired his first student out of the Newport-Mesa program. The district brings special-education students to the nursery every Thursday to do volunteer work.

“It’s fantastic,” Snyder said. “They’re limited, but we work with their limitations and give them tasks they can do. It’s good for them and it’s good for us.”