Can-do attitude helps teen meet challenges
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer
Anthony Charette of Howell is in the midst of a special year at Marlboro High School, one that is filled with the typical activities some high school seniors may take for granted, but not this young man.

Anthony Charette

Anthony, 21, has Down syndrome, but he has not let that hinder his senior year. He is performing with the school choir, was recently namedMr.Nice Guy in the school's Mr. MHS pageant, and is making plans for the promand his huge graduation party in June, all while working part time at a local Wal- Mart.

State and federal law allows a specialneeds student to remain in public school until the age of 21.

Down syndrome is a genetic variation that usually causes delays in a person's physical, intellectual and language development, according to the National Down Syndrome Congress Internet Web site. The exact causes of the chromosomal rearrangement are currently unknown. There is awide variation in themental abilities, behavior and physical development in individuals with Down syndrome,meaning every individual has his or her own unique personality, capabilities and talents.

For the past seven years, Anthony has been a student in the Freehold Regional High School District and his mother, Debbie Charette, credits district personnel for the advancements her son hasmade educationally and socially.

"Over the past seven years the number of key support people day in and day out who have offered Anthony their expertise and TLC to grow to the highest bar of his potential have been more than I can list by name," Charette said.

She said Superintendent of Schools James Wasser has set the bar high for the respect Anthony has received over the years. She said that within the FRHSD all students are seen as very important people. That way of looking at students has trickled down throughout the district's six schools and has definitely touched her son's life, she said.

"The disability factor is so minor compared to the ability factorwithAnthony, and I think that is really defining of our district, that Anthony has always stood out for the individual he is, the capability that he has and the contributions he has made," Charette said.

Although the Charettes reside in Howell, Anthony's family was able to choose which of the district's six schools their son would attend. Administrators permit the family of students who receive specialized learning instruction to choose the school they believe is the most appropriate, least restrictive inclusive setting, Charette said.

The Charettes believed Marlboro High School would be that place for Anthony.

"It was a great match, and it really proved itself from the very beginning," Charette said.

Anthony was proud to walk in the same halls as his father, Joe, who is a Marlboro graduate.

Anthony said he considers Wasser a good friend who always comes out and supports him. In March 2007, when Gov. Jon Corzine came to the high school to sign legislation regarding teenage driving safety, Wasser took the opportunity to introduce the governor to his good friend Anthony, Charette recalled.

Brought up on stage, Anthony met Corzine and was given the pen the governor used to sign the legislation, a tokenAnthony has kept.

Through the district's Student Transition Employment Program (STEP), Anthony found employment at Wal-Mart. Beverly Greenberg, Anthony's teacher, scans the want ads for job opportunities for her students, Charette said.

According to information provided by the district, STEP was created when administrators realized that special-needs students were leaving the district with nothing to do upon graduation. Public Information Coordinator Ilse Whisner said administrators decided they needed something to help those students with real-world job experience.

The program contains three steps, the first two of which are in the classroom learning job skills, such as filling out work applications and interviewing skills.Workshops are given to prepare the students with the skills they will need to keep a job.

In the last step of the program, the students go out into the workforce for part of their day. With the help of a job coach, the students go through a job sampling, a series of jobs to see which type suits them best.

Whisner reported that 90 percent of the students who take part in STEP are able to obtain a full-time job or a part-time job upon graduation.

"We try to do everything we can tomake it a successful experience for the students and the employers," she said.

Anthony has a long list of people he said have helped him in his time at Marlboro High School, including Greenberg, and staff membersDebbieUhrig,MatthewBaier and Joanne Tedesco. Tedesco provided Anthony and his parents with help and information about the recentMr.MHS contest, explaining what to expect in the weeklong activities that lead up to the final night of competition.

The title of Mr. Nice Guy that Anthony won was voted upon by the pageant's contestants. Anthony said itmeant a lot to him that his peers chose him for the honor.

"My friends are always close to my heart," he said.

At the moment, Anthony will continue his schooling, enjoying his life skills class, where he has compiled a cookbook full of recipes he has made during the semester. As the days pass, Anthony will prepare for the prom, which he will be attending with his girlfriend,Ashley, and for the day when he will walk up with the other members of the MHS class of 2008 to receive his diploma.

After graduation Anthony will continue to work at Wal-Mart. Later in the summer he and his family will be attending the national Down syndrome conference in Boston, whereAnthony will speak as a selfadvocate.

Anthony and his family will always fondly look back on the achievements and friends hemade during his high school days in the FRHSD.

"I willmissmy friends and teachers, but I will not miss waking up that early," Anthony said with a laugh.