Career-Related Learning for Students with Extensive Support Needs: A Conversation with Molly Fults and Dr. Melinda Pierson

Recently, I had the opportunity to learn from Molly Fults, an Administrator with the Orange County Department of Education who works on school programs to advance learning for students with extensive support needs. Joining her in this conversation was Dr. Melinda Pierson, a Professor of Special Education at California State University, Fullerton, and a Career Connected Schools advisor and consultant. Together, Molly and Dr. Pierson are demonstrating how the Career Connected Schools model—including the use of #RIASEC and career conversations—is creating new opportunities for students at Connections, a school co-located at Mann Elementary School in the Anaheim Elementary School District, Orange County, California.

Before diving into the learning, it's important to understand the students at the heart of this work. Molly is deeply passionate about advocating for students with extensive support needs and has dedicated more than 25 years to serving this community. Her experience allows her to describe their unique interests and dreams. "They have dreams. Some kids want to go to work. Some kids want to continue their education. And so, if we're doing our job with their planning, we can set them up for success," she shared. Molly emphasized that while these students may face challenges, they also possess "super special personalities" and have distinct areas of strength and interest that deserve to be nurtured. "What's important for people to know is that regardless of those challenges, our students are all very individual. They all have things that they're interested in, things that are areas of strength for them. And that's really what people need to know—it is there; we just have to access it differently for our students."

Molly and Dr. Pierson joined forces to collaborate at Connections, where the goal is to deliver a meaningful educational experience tailored to meet each student’s individual needs. This mission focuses on teaching skills aligned with California State Standards, emphasizing competencies that are essential for students' current and future success.

The program is structured to meet a wide range of support requirements, including:

• Students with the most significant disabilities
• Students with emotional disabilities
• Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)

Learning Connections places a deep focus on addressing emotional and behavioral development, while also offering students opportunities for Career Technical Education (CTE), community-based instruction, and vocational training.

The principal, Dr. Kristi Jacobs, is an advocate for career-connected learning and inclusive practices. The school is staffed by a highly specialized team, which includes extensive support needs teachers, deaf and hard of hearing specialists, behavior specialists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and nursing professionals, along with paraprofessional support who are more highly trained than typical school environments.

Building Career Pathways Through CTE, RIASEC, and Career Conversations

Molly and her team at Connections have already established a strong commitment to career-related learning by utilizing Career Technical Education (CTE) standards to build practical skills and expose elementary students to career pathways. Molly explained how her team extracts key components from CTE standards and makes them accessible for her students. One powerful example of this work is the garden project, which serves students across Kindergarten through 6th grade. In this project, students participate in hands-on learning about plant and soil science, irrigation, pest management, and seasonal planting cycles. These activities are designed not only to build knowledge but to teach responsibility, teamwork, and practical application of skills.

In addition to the hands-on work in the garden, students also engage in sign creation, where they design, craft, and place informational signs around the garden to communicate what is growing, best care practices, and environmental impacts. This aspect of the project integrates technical literacy and communication skills as students use technology to research and develop signage. "We are able to tap into what students are more interested in and likely to participate in," Molly shared. "We just have to access it differently for our students."

Deploying RIASEC and Shifting Perspectives

Because of the hands-on approach already thriving at Connections, it became a natural fit for the Career Connected Schools model and the introduction of RIASEC as a common career language. As with all Career Connected Schools deployments, the initial goal was to work with teachers before introducing the model to students. Dr. Pierson shared how she introduced the staff to these new methods using self-reporting, and inviting educators to explore and claim their own RIASEC themes. Together, they established a foundational language and reflected on how these conversations could be integrated into their teaching practices. Dr. Pierson noted, "the exercise not only familiarized them with the methods, but also sparked enthusiasm and understanding of its potential." Molly added that this was a critical step in building buy-in and excitement among the team. "As they started looking at it through their own lens... it was a super good turning point," Molly explained.

Dr. Pierson then modeled classroom integration by setting up rotation stations aligned to three RIASEC themes—Realistic, Artistic, and Social, referring to them as the Doers, Creators, and Helpers. These were chosen as entry points for exploration, with plans to expand to the other themes during upcoming experiences. At these stations, students were encouraged to explore and self-identify their interests, giving them choice in their preferred learning experience.

Molly described the impact of this experience on students who are often limited to prescriptive learning paths. She shared specific moments where students interacted with the stations: "We had a station that was a helper station. We could see which stations the students went to when they walked into the room—did they go to the table that had doctor kits and animals where they were doing animal care? All of those things...we could immediately see if they were engaged." This observational approach allowed Molly and her team to identify students' interests in real time, leading to new opportunities for conversations and learning. "It is unique. Because, yes, in general, our school day is very structured in terms of what we're working on, whether it be working on our language goals, our self-help skills, etc. We're working on all of these things. And students really have a pretty structured day, such that they may not have this more free exploration time that we're describing through doing RIASEC centers. And so I think something that we're working toward is building that into our work because it is career connected," Molly explained.

The reactions from teachers and staff were just as powerful. For many, it was a turning point to see students self-select stations and engage meaningfully. Molly reflected on how this work challenges deficit thinking, which often plagues special education. "There's a lot of that that goes on when working with students with disabilities...Some say, 'I don't know if they can do that. Why are we going to do that for them?'" she said. Through RIASEC, these barriers began to break down as students connected to their interests and demonstrated that they could be both successful and engaged.

Dr. Pierson emphasized that rolling out the stations required a unique approach for students with extensive support needs. "Everything we do takes a little bit more time and has to be even more intentional and purposeful," she explained. For many of the students, expressing preferences or exploring interests can take longer, requiring careful observation and patience. "We need extra time because many of the students are nonverbal...we have to be intentional about watching their reactions, where they gravitate, and what sparks their curiosity." This approach ensured that students were not rushed and had the space to show their interests in ways that may not always be verbal or obvious at first glance.

Dr. Pierson also trained teachers on how to carefully observe these moments and collect data on student engagement at each station. This structured approach was designed to meet students where they were, allowing them the time to truly express themselves and demonstrate their preferences. Molly noted that these observations surprised teachers, revealing interests that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. She shared, "They could see their students engaging, participating, and making choices. That particular day and that activity really served to flip the switch for the teachers."

The Power of Voice, Choice, and Belonging

Dr. Pierson emphasized the importance of providing students with extensive support needs with opportunities for voice and choice in their learning and career exploration. Reflecting on historical barriers, she shared how students with disabilities were often limited to narrowly defined career paths: "Being able to help all kids, especially those who don’t always get a voice is key! To give them opportunities based on their interests instead of expecting their only option to be something limiting like sorting silverware—especially if they don’t claim the Conventional theme which means they don’t love organizing things, then they should be given other options." She continued, "By using our observations of kids and by teaching parents and teachers to be aware and to truly listen to kids through these observations and data collection, we can provide them with more and better options. It takes a little bit more intentionality on our part."

Dr. Pierson also highlighted how the RIASEC framework fosters a sense of belonging among students, allowing them to feel valued for their interests. Sometimes, only one student in the class might gravitate toward a particular theme, like Realistic, but it becomes a celebration of uniqueness rather than an outlier. "It almost normalizes it being okay if only one kid is Realistic or Artistic...RIASEC gives them permission to say, 'This is me,' and for everyone else to understand and respect it."

Looking Forward: Expanding Career Opportunities

Molly is optimistic about expanding these methods to more schools and older students. She outlined two primary goals for the Career Connected Schools partnership moving forward:

1. "Rolling it out to more of our school sites and rolling it up to our older groups of students. We just started with this in the elementary population. But I would really like to see it more program-wide, so that again, that common language trickles up."
2. "I also would like to see us using RIASEC as a tool for when we're doing transition planning for our students."

These goals reflect Molly's vision to extend RIASEC-based career exploration from elementary to high school, ensuring that every student has ongoing opportunities for career discovery and self development. By integrating RIASEC into transition planning, the framework can serve as a guide to help students identify their strengths and interests as they prepare for life beyond school.

Similarly, Dr. Pierson envisions a future where students with extensive support needs have more autonomy and choice in their career paths. When asked about what she is most excited about for the future, Dr. Pierson shared her reflections:

"I have worked with TK to seniors in high school and have loved every age and grade level, but I most value getting to see every voice heard. And I think now as I continue the work with other districts and push into their special education programs, we can make sure that all kids are included in career exploration and given a voice. That's the power of RIASEC conversations—it’s not limiting. It gives kids who might not be heard an opportunity to find something that they're really good at and that makes me really excited."

Reflecting on her decades-long career in special education, Dr. Pierson shared: "I really believe in this! I've been in education for so long that at this point I only do things that I know work and can make an impact.  In addition, this is fun - I really believe in the power of giving every student a voice."

Through their collaboration, Molly and Dr. Pierson are ensuring that students with extensive support needs have a voice and choice in their futures. Their efforts are a testament to the belief that every student, regardless of ability, deserves the opportunity to explore and achieve their fullest career dreams.

Take Action

As you consider Molly and Dr. Pierson's work at Learning Connections, consider these key areas:

• Understanding: How has their work expanded your perspective on career-connected learning for students with extensive support needs?
• Empathy: What emotions did learning about this approach to career-related learning evoke for you? How has it deepened your empathy for inclusive career exploration?
• Action: What steps can you take in your role—whether as an educator, community leader, or advocate—to support inclusive career exploration for students with extensive support needs?

Take a moment to reflect and consider how you might act on what you’ve learned to create more possibilities for all students.