(ABC 6 News) – When timers beep and paper shreds at the Next Step Transition School in Grand Meadow, that’s typically a good sign that students are hard at work.

Special education students are hard at work building orthotics for the Rochester Limb Lab as part of their classwork with the Southern Minnesota Education Consortium (SMEC). Students get real work experience and the Limb Lab gets some extra help.

Gary Sloan is the class teacher and guides the students through each step of the process.

“We just want them to be able to hold jobs as independently as possible,” Sloan said.

SMEC was one of two groups selected by Limb Lab to participate in the pilot program, the other is Goodhue Education Cooperative.

Brysen Holst is one of the students involved in the program. He said he is loving the work.

“It’s been fun, I made some new friends and I also got to work here with them,” Holst said.

The program is still in its trial phase and whether or not it continues is up to Limb Lab. But Limb Lab co-founder Brandon Sampson is open to anything.

“The sky’s the limit,” Sampson said,

Staff from SMEC and Limb Lab plan to meet in mid-April to decide what’s next for the program.