By Andy Furman
Point/Arc
Brandon Releford, Executive Director for the Zembrodt Education Center at The Point/Arc will welcome the largest incoming class when the fall semester begins on Tuesday.
The Zembrodt Education Center (ZEC) is an extension of The Point/Arc. ZEC was created to increase growth and support for individuals and families in the Northern Kentucky and Great Cincinnati region. The mission – to give people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) opportunities to reach their highest potential educationally, residentially, socially and vocationally.
Releford, who is the first active Director of the center, will welcome his second incoming class of students this semester.
“This year,” he said, “our Transition Program is exploding with the new students, instructional strategies and curriculum development.”
He said The ZEC prides itself in making sure that the students receive the best instruction while they are here.
“Our overarching goal,” he continued, “is to see them successful, contributing members of society. This year, our Elevate Job Training class grew by fifty percent.”
The ZEC Transition Program basically leads high school students into adulthood, and makes them productive members of society, Releford said.
The ZEC Transition Program offers three different classes. “One class will have students meeting three-days-a-week,” Releford said, “One class will meet twice-a-week and one class will originate in the district school.”
Releford is no stranger to teaching and education. He’s spent 10-plus years in Workforce Development as a Coordinator of Career Services, a Workforce Instructor, Career and Placement Specialist and a Case Management employee.
A graduate of Lee University (Cleveland, Tenn.), he spent five years as a classroom teacher at a private school in Northern Kentucky.
“Our curriculum for Transition is based on three major concepts,” he said, “Soft Skills, Post Secondary Education Options/Career Pathways and Entrepreneurship.”
He said instructors will give students the opportunity to learn skills to be successful in a career path of their choice – college coursework, social communication skills – and what it means to own your own business.
“Our instructors spend hours upon hours planning for impactful days for each of their students,” he said. “This year, we spent a week as a team, in training, so that this year can be our best yet.”
Releford has also served as Program Director for Northern Kentucky Community Action (NKCAC) Commission’s Senior Community Service Employment Program. At Gateway Community and Technical College, Releford served as adjunct faculty in the Early Childhood Education and Human Services departments.
The Zembrodt Education Center (ZEC) officially opened in 2020; and was totally vacant in 2021 thanks to the pandemic.
The Point/Arc was founded in 1972 by a group of parents fighting for the educational rights of their children, who were diagnosed with an intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD). The mission — to help people with disabilities achieve their highest potential educationally, socially, residentially, and vocationally.
More than this, The Point/Arc has been an organization that identifies gaps in services and provides care and support to fill these gaps – when government funding sources are not available.
The Point/Arc