Job coaching & purpose mentoring · Long Island
Everyone is good at something.
Let’s find what you’re good at — and turn it into a job you’re proud of.
The gap I’m here to close
Leaving school can feel like standing at the edge of something with no map.
If you have a disability, or your child does, and you are wondering what comes next — you do not have to work it out alone.
I am Christine McCann. I taught special education in West Islip for twenty-eight years. I started The Bridge to Purpose because I watched too many capable students finish high school or college with no path into work that actually suited them. That is the gap I am here to close.
The Bridge to Purpose is not part of an agency. It is a personal, customized, concierge service — you are not a case file in a queue. I work with one person at a time, at their own pace, and I stay involved from our first conversation through the job itself.
How it works
Three steps, in order, at your pace.
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1
Discover your strengths
We start with you. What you enjoy, what comes easily, what you are curious about. There is no test to pass or fail.
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2
Find the right fit
I know employers here on the Island. I look for work where your strengths matter and your interests line up.
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3
Succeed on the job
I do not disappear once you are hired. I coach you at work until the job feels like yours — until you are comfortable, confident, and proud.
Who this is for
If you recognize yourself here, we should talk.
- Young people with disabilities leaving school, or already out and unsure what is next
- Families who want a real plan, not another pamphlet
- Anyone ready to work who has not yet found the right door
For parents and caregivers
You know your child’s abilities better than any evaluation does, and I want to hear what you see.
We build the plan together, and you stay part of it at every step.
In practice
“When someone discovers their purpose, their whole life shifts.”
Mrs. McCann worked with me a lot at first to make sure I got a good grasp of the task. Now, she mostly has me do it by myself because she sees that I understand it. This is what a good job coach does.
Mrs. McCann is an educator of rare qualities. She is honest, collegial and truly goes above and beyond to meet the diverse needs of her students.
Each year Mrs. McCann would conduct a thorough inventory of each of her student’s strengths and identify areas of growth. She would create individual plans to help each child reach their potential.
She employed a creative style that addressed the various needs of each student in her charge … exceptional communication skills, adaptability, empathy and patience.
About Christine
Twenty-eight years in the classroom, and thirty in this community.
Christine E. McCann is a New York State certified special education and reading teacher who spent twenty-eight years with the West Islip School District between 1993 and 2023, teaching students in grades K–8 across the district’s special education programs.
She served as teacher liaison to the Special Education Parent Teacher Association for ten years, and today continues to work with children through Eastern Suffolk BOCES and as an early intervention specialist.
She is Vice President of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of Women of West Islip, and an active volunteer with the West Islip Beautification Society, the Country Fair Committee, and the Historical Society.
That matters for a practical reason: the employers she approaches on your behalf are people she already knows.
NYS certifications
- Special EducationAll grades, K–12
- Reading SpecialistAll grades, K–12
- Elementary EducationNursery, Kindergarten, Grades 1–6
Education
- M.S.Ed., Reading InstructionC.W. Post / Long Island University
- B.A., Special & Elementary EducationMarist University, Poughkeepsie
Areas of practice
- Vocational assessment & supported employment placement
- Strengths-based, person-centered career planning
- On-the-job coaching & long-term job retention
- Self-advocacy and workplace social skills
Get in touch
Let’s start with a conversation.
Reaching out costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
- Phone
- (631) 921-2135
- Serving
- West Islip and Long Island