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View larger image

SDAP student Germaine Horodyski, far left, takes his turn acting as a customer while Allen Thomas, an SDAP student from Raleigh, center, practices scanning sample groceries. ECRS lead trainer and database integrity manager Melanie Marshall oversees the exercise. Photo by Marie Freeman

Registering success: Appalachian’s SDAP partners with technology firm ECRS

“Practicing in real-life is how students learn. The setup at ECRS allows us to teach skills that the students can use.”

Mary Strong ’16 ’17, transition and career coordinator for SDAP

By Jan Todd
Posted March 6, 2019 at 11:22 a.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program (SDAP) — a program designed to prepare college-age students with intellectual disabilities for personal growth and occupational success — has partnered with Boone-based technology firm ECR Software Corporation (ECRS) to create a mutually beneficial training program for SDAP students. The ECRS–SDAP collaboration is now in its second semester.

The training program is part of an SDAP community access course, in which students learn both life and career skills.

“Empowering independence is a core value at ECRS. We strive to put our values into action, in business and in our community. Working with SDAP students enables us to do just that.”

Melanie Marshall, lead trainer and database integrity manager for ECRS

“Empowering independence is a core value at ECRS. We strive to put our values into action, in business and in our community. Working with SDAP students enables us to do just that.”

Melanie Marshall, lead trainer and database integrity manager for ECRS

“Empowering independence is a core value at ECRS,” said Melanie Marshall, lead trainer and database integrity manager for ECRS. “We strive to put our values into action, in business and in our community. Working with SDAP students enables us to do just that.”

ECRS develops point-of-sale systems for retail outlets. Its showroom displays live systems, including scanners with payment terminals and self-checkout stations.

“The pieces really come together in our showroom: We’re able to provide a low-stress environment for these students to train and gain critical hands-on experience for future employment in a retail environment,” Marshall said.

“Practicing in real-life is how students learn. The setup at ECRS allows us to teach skills that the students can use.”

Mary Strong ’16 ’17, transition and career coordinator for SDAP

Mary Strong ’16 ’17, transition and career coordinator for SDAP, said, “Practicing in real-life is how students learn. The setup at ECRS allows us to teach skills that the students can use.

“A lot of students who have intellectual disabilities struggle with money, being able to count. Our students are able to go and practice, using real money, without the pressure of being on the job.”

View larger image

Pictured from left to right, SDAP student Reid Pond, from Boone, Mary Strong ’16 ’17, transition and career coordinator for SDAP, and SDAP students Elizabeth Droessler, from Wake Forest, and Luke Wilcox, from Boone, practice counting money as part of the training at ECRS. Photo by Marie Freeman

Work and life skills

Each month, SDAP instructors and students travel to the ECRS showroom for training sessions. Students take turns acting as customer, cashier and bagger, progressively learning the following skills over the course of the semester:

  • Counting and handling money.
  • Scanning groceries.
  • Operating a cash register.
  • Accepting different forms of payment.
  • Using self-checkout stations.

However, training goes beyond the use of the machines — ECRS and SDAP trainers instruct students in customer service skills, interview skills and budgeting for grocery purchases.

Appalachian’s SDAP focuses on allowing students to explore their goals in four categories: career, personal, social and academic.

“Our model is like the overall Appalachian model, where students come in and explore what they want to do, what kind of classes they want to take,” Strong explained.

The required community access course for SDAP students includes career exploration. “That’s where we dovetail in the ECRS program,” Strong said. “The hope is to have this as a regular part of their curriculum, where students will have cashier training as part of job exploration.”

View larger image

Daniel Rudasill, an SDAP student from Shelby, center, takes his turn at the cash register, serving fellow SDAP student Allen Thomas, far left, who plays the role of customer. Observing the exercise, from left to right, are Melanie Marshall of ECRS, SDAP Director Anna Ward and SDAP student Germaine Horodyski. Photo by Marie Freeman

View larger image

Melanie Marshall, far left, lead trainer and database integrity manager for ECRS, coaches SDAP student Germaine Horodyski, from Creston, center, as he gives change to another SDAP student acting as a practice customer. Photo by Marie Freeman

View larger image

The ECRS retail systems setup in the company’s showroom allows SDAP students to practice skills on real-life equipment in a low-stress environment. Photo by Marie Freeman

Mutually beneficial

This community and campus collaboration benefits ECRS as well, Strong said. “More and more individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are entering the workforce. This is in part due to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the current cultural awareness of the importance and benefits of inclusion in the work environment,” she explained.

“Having our students learning on the ECRS system could reveal ways their clients could better train and support individuals with IDD.”

Marshall said, “The partnership between SDAP and ECRS creates a lot of opportunity. I’m grateful to be able to work directly with these students. It’s important to empower their independence so they can succeed in the workplace.”

What do you think?

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Support the Scholars with Diverse <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Abilities Program</span>
Support the Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program

SDAP was made possible in 2015 by a five-year $1.114 million grant from the Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities into Higher Education (TPSID) program, plus additional funds from Appalachian. Even more support through private gifts to the university will help expand SDAP’s offerings and support the faculty, staff and students associated with it.

Give now
More giving options
Scholars with Diverse Abilities
Scholars with Diverse Abilities

SDAP provides students (Scholars) with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities access to a 2-year inclusive college educational experience. When the students complete the program, they receive a Collegiate Achievement Award. We work with students on whole-person development: academic, social, personal, and career goals.

Learn more

About ECR Software Corporation (ECRS)

ECR Software Corporation (ECRS), headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, was started in 1989 by young entrepreneur and Appalachian alumnus Pete Catoe ’92. ECRS is an award-winning, innovative company bringing together retail software, hardware and services to create solutions in retail automation. Since its inception, ECRS has grown into a leading provider of retail automation systems to merchants in North America and beyond. Learn more at https://www.ecrs.com.

Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program
Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program

Many Appalachian students benefit from having peers with intellectual challenges on campus

Feb. 20, 2017

The two-year Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program creates a more inclusive education for many Appalachian students, not just those it directly serves.

Read the story
Local business ECRS establishes new scholarship program for Appalachian computer science students
Local business ECRS establishes new scholarship program for Appalachian computer science students
March 1, 2019

Over the next four years, ECR Software Corporation (ECRS) will award $176,000 in total scholarship support to eight undergraduate and two graduate students in Appalachian’s Department of Computer Science.

Read the story

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

Scholars with Diverse Abilities
Scholars with Diverse Abilities

SDAP provides students (Scholars) with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities access to a 2-year inclusive college educational experience. When the students complete the program, they receive a Collegiate Achievement Award. We work with students on whole-person development: academic, social, personal, and career goals.

Learn more
Support the Scholars with Diverse <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Abilities Program</span>
Support the Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program

SDAP was made possible in 2015 by a five-year $1.114 million grant from the Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities into Higher Education (TPSID) program, plus additional funds from Appalachian. Even more support through private gifts to the university will help expand SDAP’s offerings and support the faculty, staff and students associated with it.

Give now
More giving options
Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program
Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program

Many Appalachian students benefit from having peers with intellectual challenges on campus

Feb. 20, 2017

The two-year Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program creates a more inclusive education for many Appalachian students, not just those it directly serves.

Read the story
Local business ECRS establishes new scholarship program for Appalachian computer science students
Local business ECRS establishes new scholarship program for Appalachian computer science students
March 1, 2019

Over the next four years, ECR Software Corporation (ECRS) will award $176,000 in total scholarship support to eight undergraduate and two graduate students in Appalachian’s Department of Computer Science.

Read the story

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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