On a Wednesday in November, Niles Public Works Department mechanic Joe Pacelli and Michael Flournoy, a special education student at a Des Plaines school, raised the hood on a village fire department vehicle to make adjustments to an engine coolant sensor. It was a unique opportunity for them both that was made possible through a special partnership between the village of Niles and the school.
Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy and Career Tech High School, formerly the Maryville Jen School, located in Des Plaines, provides specialized vocational and academic education for students age 14 to 22 who have learning and intellectual disabilities, autism or other health impairments. The curriculum focuses on career technical education, preparing students for jobs in various trades, according to school leaders.
Niles Public Works Department mechanic Joe Pacelli, left, shows Michael Flournoy, a special education student at Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy and Career Tech High School in Des Plaines, how to adjust the engine coolant sensor on a Niles Fire Department vehicle Nov. 19, 2025 in Niles. (Talia Sprague/for Pioneer Press)
Niles Public Works Department mechanic Joe Pacelli, left, and Michael Flournoy, a student at Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy and Career Tech High School in Des Plaines, work on a Niles Fire Department vehicle Nov. 19, 2025 in Niles. (Talia Sprague /for Pioneer Press)
The idea for the school to partner with the village of Niles, including the village’s Public Works Department, was born out of a May 21 Career Day where Niles mayor George Alpogianis was in attendance. The mayor said students showed a lot of interest in the trades available in Public Works. Then, village leaders made an official program pitch to Alpogianis.
“The idea was brought to me by Joe LoVerde, former village trustee and Niles Park Commissioner, and Mike Monroe at Maryville Academy. It’s evolving into something special,” the mayor told Pioneer Press about what has become a special internship opportunity.
Two Walsh Academy students shadow staff at the Niles Public Works facility three times a week. Additional students are expected to be phased into the program, and rotations started in other areas of the department, including Streets and Sanitation.
Other Walsh Academy students assist at Niles Family Services, the village’s social services department, cleaning the building, organizing the food pantry and serving lunch to senior citizens.
Corey Meeks, a special education student at Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy and Career Tech High School in Des Plaines, files down the edges of a panel designed to cover an electrical panel inside a Niles Fire Department ambulance Nov. 19, 2025 in Niles. (Talia Sprague/for Pioneer Press)
When Walsh Academy moved into the former South Elementary School building two years ago — just steps from the Niles Public Works facility — Ann Craig, the school’s director of educational services, said she identified an opportunity.
“Creating a partnership with Niles Public Works seemed only natural,” Craig told Pioneer Press. “I wanted to build an auto shop. They’re my auto shop now. Having the opportunity to have our kids work with people in the field boosts their self esteem and boosts their confidence.”
Flournoy, 18, of Wheeling, discovered that he wants to be a mechanic, and the hands-on experience he has been getting shadowing in the Public Works Department, including helping to do such work as tune up a Dodge Durango police car, is furthering his new career plans.
“We use a jack to lift the police car in the air to change the suspension, then lifted it back down to change the oil and check the tires. It’s kind of challenging but sort of easy,” said Flournoy, who likes the tactile work and recently started studying to be a mechanic.
Flournoy has an appreciation for what he calls the “step-by-step” instruction he has been given by Public Works employees.
Corey Meeks, 20, of River Grove, is also whetting his newfound mechanic appetite and has gained through the internship such skills as how to replace the tires on fire trucks and work with a bandsaw.
Both Walsh Academy students never had an opportunity to learn how to be mechanics until now with this program, which introduced them to a profession they had not previously considered, according to school officials.
Flournoy and Meeks take part in transition programming at Walsh where they get help pursuing life beyond the special education school, including looking into higher education or technical school and employment, and are taught needed life skills to be independent.
Craig said her school is giving students alternatives that they not only didn’t have before, but may not have otherwise had access to.
“They’re amazing kids, wonderful young men and women who have not been successful in a traditional high school setting. So we’re trying to expose them to different opportunities,” Craig said about the student body. “They learn better by doing, and that hands-on, physical type of learning is in the trades — welding, plumbing and electrical, bike repair, trades that could lead to successful careers.”
David Troiani, a Niles Public Works Department mechanic, left, shows Corey Meeks, a student at Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy and Career Tech High School, how to use a bandsaw Nov. 19, 2025 in Niles. (Talia Sprague/ for Pioneer Press)
Alpogianis said he sees the need to support the Walsh students locally and give them a peek into future career opportunities.
“They need a sense of belonging, need and purpose,” the mayor said. “You give them a purpose and they keep going, and that’s what we’re achieving here.”
Experts echo Craig and the mayor on the social and emotional benefits of the internships, adding that the opportunities boost employment offerings and hiring potential.
Michelle Yin, Ph.D., is not connected to either Walsh Academy or the village of Niles. But the associate professor at the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy is a labor and education economist specializing in disability employment. She extols the benefits vocational training and internships, and ultimately employment, can have on students like the ones at Walsh Academy and other people with disabilities.
“In general, employment is one of the strongest predictors of quality of life for people with disabilities — regardless of the type of disabilities,” Yin, who also directs the Research and Innovation for Social and Economic Inclusion Lab, told Pioneer Press. “Having a job does far more than providing a paycheck for these people. When they have a job … in a professional setting, a lot of these opportunities help build independence and social connections. And provides participants a really strong sense of agency.”
She said when students with disabilities are offered work-based learning, internships and apprenticeships, it is “often the first time they can see themselves … contributing to their community in a meaningful way.”
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate disparate rates of employment and unemployment among people age 16 and older with disabilities versus those without. The unemployment rate for persons with a disability was 7.5 % in 2024, about double the rate for those without a disability (3.8 %).
Additionally, in 2024, about 25% of persons age 16 and older with a disability were in the labor force, employed and actively seeking jobs, which was the lowest participation rate among major groups, according to the government data.
Public Works Director Steve Quinn remembers the positive response students and staff had during career day.
“Our guys loved it, and the students really seemed to enjoy it and get a kick out of it,” Quinn said.
Quinn said he plans to expand the internship and shadowing program to include exposing students to building maintenance, electrician, HVAC, plumbing, carpentry and arborist work.
“It’s been fantastic all around, and really successful,” he said. “Everyone seems to be enjoying it and making the most of it.”
Meeks and Flournoy say they are especially enjoying the program, since they may have a future opportunity to work part-time in Public Works if they obtain the requisite licensing.
“It’s helping us learn the ‘why’ and ‘how’ so we can keep having faith in what we’re doing,” Flournoy said. “I’m looking forward to what they’re teaching me. Whatever they assign me, I’m ready to get going.”
