Every week during the school year, young adults with disabilities leave the classroom and head into local businesses across Longview, Kelso and the surrounding area to work, learn and demonstrate what they can do.

The students are part of STEPS (Student Transition Educational Program Services), a program through Educational Service District (ESD) 112 that helps young adults with disabilities transition from high school into adult life. During the 2025-26 school year, STEPS served 37 students from seven school districts: Longview, Kelso, Toutle Lake, Castle Rock, Kalama, Wahkiakum and La Center.

For more than half of each school week, students participate in work-based learning at local businesses. This year, the program expanded its off-site internship placements from eight to 14 community partners, including Country Folks Deli, Red Hat, Elks Lodge and Salty Beaver.

For participating businesses, the partnership offers more than an extra set of hands.

“I like that STEPS provides students with real-world job skills,” said Michelle Grendahl-Thorp, executive director at Children’s Discovery Museum in Kelso.

She said people with disabilities are often overlooked because they are seen as different. “It gives a business a chance to change that outlook,” she said.

STEPS student vacuuming at the Forever Fit Gym

STEPS student working at the Forever Fit Gym

Greg Price, owner of Forever Fit Gym in Longview, learned about STEPS through the Together We Can conference after speaking with a STEPS staff member. Students later toured his gym, and he decided to partner with the program.

“It’s cool that they can show people what they can do,” Price said. “Customers notice the students working and take pride in seeing them succeed.”

Since becoming a partner, Price has encouraged other local business owners to get involved with the STEPS program.

The program’s impact was also recognized this year when STEPS teacher Mallory Fleshman was named Teacher of the Year at this year’s Together We Can conference, becoming the first STEPS teacher to receive the regional honor.

“I love seeing our students grow and blossom into their own level of independence, which looks different for everybody,” Fleshman said.

As STEPS continues to expand its network of community partners, the program’s mission remains the same: providing students real-world experience, workplace skills and community connections that will support them long after graduation.

To learn more about STEPS, visit esd112.org/STEPS or contact Jeanette Forman, STEPS program administrator, at jeanette.forman@esd112.org.