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Goal

To immerse students in learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Learning does not just take place in a classroom, but transfers out into the community. My goal is to engage my students with special needs in the community. These opportunities will allow them to practice many skills they will need for a successful life, learn social skills and better understand the community they live in. It will also allow the community to see my students as contributing members of society. Students will make real life connections between what is learned in the classroom and why those skills are needed in life.

 

What will be done with my students

At my school my students operate a school store where they order and sell items to other students. Students use their profit to run a cooking program where they learn about safety in the kitchen, hygiene when cooking and different types of food. The students are responsible for reading the recipe and following the directions. These programs help to teach my students skills they will need in life. However, the community also provides very rich learning experiences for students. Experiences in the community will allow students to make connections outside of the classroom and see what sorts of careers use the skills they are learning at school. There will be one community based learning experience a month for nine months (September through May). This year our school has adopted Village Oaks Elementary as a sister school and will be providing support for the students and teachers there. Part of our community based learning experiences will be learning about giving back to other children who may not have all the resources that students in my classroom do. Village Oaks Elementary has a large population of students (99.4%) who are economically needy.

1) September- We will travel to Target to shop for school supplies for students and teachers at Village Oaks Elementary
2) October- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will also visit a local fire station to learn about the job of firefighters and when to call 911.
3) November- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom and school supply items for new students at Village Oaks Elementary. We will also visit a police station to learn about the job of police officers and when to call 911.
4) December- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will also visit a local park, learn about leisure activities that students can do in the community and learn about the job of a park ranger.
5) January- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will visit a garden center to learn about plants before we plant our garden at school.
6) February- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom and items for school supplies for students at Village Oaks. We will also learn about another leisure activity in the community like mini golf.
7) March- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will visit a local pet store to learn about different animals, their care and jobs in that field.
8) April- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will visit the public library to learn about the different programs they have for children.
9) May- We will travel to a supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom. We will visit a restaurant to learn how to order our own food and pay for it.

 

Benefits to my students

The benefits to my students will be life changing. All of my students have intellectual disabilities and struggle with academic skills as well as social and communication skills. Life skills education and community-based learning are natural ways to encourage these skills in my students. Students will work on following a grocery list as they shop, practice paying for the items they buy and communicating with people in the community. They also will gain a greater understanding about places they can go for leisure activities in the community. These opportunities will allow my students to learn skills that will set a strong foundation for them as they advance through school and eventually go through our transition programs and into the community as adults. Another big part of this learning is to help educate the community on acceptance of people with special needs and to help show our students in a positive light, so they feel that they belong wherever they go.  

Budget Narrative

Each community-based learning program will be 2-3 hours, so there will be transportation costs. The cost of a bus is 21.50 per hour and in total, we will be in the community for 26 hours. School supplies for Village Oaks Elementary will be the only other cost of this program. The cost of cooking supplies and any admission fees will be covered through school funding.

 

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