New Learning Opportunities in Store for MHS Special Education Students
A select number of students in Macomb High School's special education program can hold an IEP through age 22, with a handful remaining in school after the age of 18. A new program that is taking off this year puts six of those students who have 'aged' out of high school, but are still in need of learning opportunities, the chance to continue their education and develop new skills.
The pilot program, Project Flight, created by Jennifer Houch, special education coordinator and the district's Assistant Superintendent Marjorie Rhoades, and supported by Kelly Carpenter, Macomb Community Unit School District 185 director of special education, teaches independent living skills and job training to some of the high school's IEP students who are 18 years of age and older. Parents sign off on their student's participation. Last year, two of Houch's students worked in the WIU Food Pantry as part of a 'soft launch' of the program.
On Wednesday, which was the first day of school, six students arrived in their new learning space in Horrabin Hall to begin their coursework and prepare for their future under the direction of teacher Stacie Kwacala and paraprofessional and job coach Jennifer Hennings. Western is providing the three classroom spaces at no cost to the district, and the Tracy Family Foundation has provided a $40,000 grant to purchase a van for the program, Rhoades said. Special education grants have been used to renovate the space.
One room will be set up by the students as a mock apartment, complete with a washer and dryer, stove, refrigerator and living area so the students can learn how to cook, maintain their residence and do laundry, for example. Another room will be set up as a donation-based coffeeshop for the students to learn additional job skills and learn to work with the public, while the third room will be a traditional classroom where they'll participate in Job Ready-Life Ready learning modules. Students will also work in various jobs in the community, under Hennings' direction. They'll take fitness classes twice a week at Make Fit Happen as part of a fitness component and clean the gym in return to learn additional skills, while another student is already set to work at the University Farm, Rhoades explained.
