By Helena Maffei

Manhattan Star Academy (MSA) is a K-12, private school located at West 66th Street and Amsterdam Avenue for students with a broad range of intellectual and developmental disabilities. These include “global developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, speech and language delays, and neurodevelopmental delays,” according to the website.

MSA has a “transition program,” in which older students are offered internships to teach them useful vocational skills. While most of MSA’s internships have historically been in-house tasks mimicking the feel of real-world jobs, this past September the transition program brought the outside world into its students’ curricula through a pilot program.

Local restaurant Joanne Trattoria (70th Street between Columbus and CPW) has joined with MSA to offer students the opportunity to intern in a real-world setting — and if all goes according to plan, it will be just the first of many Upper West Side businesses to do so.

While their partnership with Joanne is only months old, offering students opportunities to practice work skills has been part of MSA’s curriculum for much longer. “All students, at the age of fifteen, must have a transition plan,” explained Lynzee Masiello, the transition coordinator. “That’s a legal requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and of New York State.”

MSA introduces students to their transition programs around the age of 12 through in-house opportunities, such as helping with maintenance or package delivery, in Lower School classrooms, and with the daily snack cart that runs between classrooms. There are also “mock supermarket shelves,” which students can practice stocking.

“Neurotypical individuals choose their jobs based on different opportunities they’ve had,” Lynzee says. “The goal of the transition program is to provide MSA students with enough opportunities for them to figure out by the time they graduate what sort of work they can and would like to do. The partnership with Joanne, which allows students to help with simple tasks like setting tables and sweeping floors, has become an essential part of this vision.”

Jaime Morsony, a staff member, explained that Joe Germanotta, the owner of Joanne is her friend and neighbor, which is how the partnership began. “We have a lot of students who, in an academic setting need so much support, but when provided a vocational opportunity, they’re completely independent,” she said.

A class of students in the transition program displayed the “vision boards” they had made representing their ideal futures. Lynzee pointed out three students with interests in fashion, designing logos, and working with animals; “all opportunities that a transition program with more community outreach could potentially provide,” she said.

“We’re going to help the people,” 16-year-old Dahaba responded when asked what he would say to Upper West Side business owners wondering whether to join the transition program. He’s been a hard worker at Joanne, sweeping the floor and setting places. Dahaba also has an in-house internship in MSA’s Lower School. When asked how he felt about this year’s new internship program, he says “it’s nice to be able to leave the classroom and be in a different environment.”

Fifteen-year old Jalil hopes the program will grow to include “a supermarket or a convenience store or bakery.” He says he has enjoyed his internship at Joanne, but he has “mastered the position and [is] ready for a change.”

The transition program will expand from 14 to 33 students next year. “Having more opportunities and positions available is essential to maintaining the program,” says Lynzee. “We do have students that have been [at Joanne] since the fall, and they’ve become completely independent. There are so many unique businesses on the Upper West Side…surely some of them could open their doors to this opportunity.”