Harriett Tongen, our Job Placement Transition Specialist, who joined our faculty at the start of the 2010-11 school year, is retiring at the end of the school year.
She and her husband Arthur, who holds a similar position at J. W. Mitchell High School, are both retiring. She says they plan to work on their house and then do some traveling.
As the JPTS she runs a non-paid worksite for the IND unit and she does job transition, which assists ESE students with employment skills.
She started her career in Pasco County in 1984 at the Pasco County Tax Collector’s office as a Customer Service Clerk. After two years, she served as a supervisor at various offices serving the public for 13 years and supervising 8-16 clerks. She retired from the Tax Collector’s office in 1999. and accepted the JPTS position at Pasco High School where she served 2 years. While there she served on the Work Option 2 Diploma Criteria Committee. Ms. Tongen subsequently started the FAPE program at Marchman Technical Education Center, where she worked for 10 years. While at MTEC she implemented the Travel Training program for Students with Disabilities. FAPE consists of students who graduate with a Special Diploma and need employment or independent living skills support.
