Monroe, La – Louisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) recently hosted its 2026 Jump Start Summer program, providing high school students with disabilities from Caldwell and Lincoln parish school districts with opportunities to earn an industry-recognized credential, explore technical careers, and prepare for life after high school.
The participating students are transition students who are preparing to move from high school into postsecondary education, workforce training, or employment. The program was designed to help them build workplace readiness skills and better understand the career pathways available to them.
In 2024, LDCC entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Louisiana Department of Education and the Union, Lincoln, Caldwell and Catahoula parish school districts. The partnership focuses on improving outcomes and expanding inclusive educational and workforce opportunities for high school students with disabilities. As part of the partnership, LDCC’s Workforce Development division offered a hybrid OSHA 10 course using the online CareerSafe platform and in-person classroom instruction.
A workforce instructor reinforced key workplace safety concepts and guided the students through four days of instruction.
All seven participating students successfully completed the OSHA 10 course within one week and earned an industry-based credential. Each student will also receive an official OSHA 10 credential card. In addition to classroom instruction, students participated in several work-based learning experiences at LDCC’s Monroe campus. They toured the computer numerical control lab, operated the heavy equipment operator simulator, explored the fiber-optics lab, and completed a hands-on activity in the data center technician classroom.
Students also participated in off-campus experiences at Voith and Mid-South Extrusion. During the visit to Voith, students wore personalized protective equipment and observed workplace safety practices in an industrial environment. At Mid-South Extrusion, students viewed advanced manufacturing processes and learned how safety procedures are incorporated into daily facility operations.
Throughout the Jump Start Summer program, students remained engaged and enthusiastic as they developed workplace readiness skills, gained technical knowledge, and became more familiar with college and workplace environments. These experiences are an important part of helping students with disabilities successfully transition from high school into further education, career training and employment.
Building on the success of this year’s program, LDCC plans to continue working with participating school districts next summer and expand the program to include students from Union Parish. Please visit ladelta.edu for more information on the variety of programs available.
