Lily Simons loves Christmastime in the Discovery Point Program. 

Simons, along with some of her peers, manned a pop-up table throughout the school district, selling signs, ornaments, soaps and cards. The work was done in collaboration with the manufacturing program and teacher Brennan Natoli. Two high school seniors also interned with the program, visiting for peer mentoring and job coaching, and contributing crafts to the pop-up.

“I love sending cards to people. I find it very interesting and a blessing to send them to people,” Simons said. “We all worked very hard on making different things.”

The table sales are one part of the integration and community-building that the Discovery Point Program offers its students. The 18- to 22-year-olds are learning valuable life and job skills that will help them in the world beyond the school walls.

Discovery Point, which started in 2020, is a special education transition program for young adults ages 18 to 22. The program is part of the Swampscott Public School system and is housed at Swampscott High School. Students focus on job skills, community living, independence and overall confidence.

“Our program is for students with disabilities that are learning how to use their abilities in their own unique ways,” said Emily Borden, who runs the program. “The main point is getting students with need profiles an ability to explore their community and grow in their independence.”

While some students come directly from the Discovery Learning Center at Swampscott High School – a special education program for students in grades nine through 12 – the Discovery Point Program also accepts tuition students from other districts “who fit our profile,” according to Borden.

There are currently five students in the Discovery Point Program, but Borden said the number changes every year and is expected to increase next year.

Students are able to learn in a “safe way that makes them feel more confident,” Borden said. They build independence through skills such as transportation use, communication and social interaction.

“We really try to look at the student as a person and fit their needs,” Borden said. “We don’t fit the student into a cookie cutter. We look at who they are and try to find what would fit them in the community and help them make those connections where they otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity. This is really just a  place to give them the most opportunity for the community to explore something in a safe way and to have our population have the same opportunities.”

Part of that learning comes through what Dominic Reynolds called the program’s “fun field trips.”

The Discovery Point Program connects real-world events with hands-on activities and learning experiences. During the holiday season, students interviewed each other for a Secret Snowflake gift exchange. They discussed budgeting, finding good deals, and thinking about others and what they might like, and then took those skills into the community.

This season, the group visited the mall to shop.

Borden called the experience a “well-rounded social interaction.” The program also works within a larger regional transition network, encouraging peer interaction and group learning beyond Swampscott.

“It’s really imploring the community to understand their role in this,” Borden said. “A lot of times, we ask people who think differently to think the way the world thinks instead of telling the world to figure out how to think the way that our people think. It’s trying to create those safe community exploration moments.”

For the community, Borden said, field trips allow people to ask questions and “have time to get to know how amazing our population is.”

“It’s not something to be concerned or fearful about, but sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know,” Borden said. “Giving an opportunity for the community to know, now they do have that experience. Now they can say, ‘I know this group and I welcome them with open arms.’ That’s what we want to do.”

As a transition program, Discovery Point prepares students for adulthood, though what that looks like varies for each individual. Some students focus on independent living, while others work toward part-time or group employment with support from adult agencies.

“We want them to have success in whatever they’re doing,” Borden said. “Each person’s success is totally different from the other…We’re here to help build confidence in their abilities and to advocate for themselves and really go for what they want, to not just do what’s ‘available’ for people like them but to be individualized like you would with any person and help them find their niche.”