Special ed students learn about real life
ADAMS TWP — Walking down the halls of Mars High School, classroom 140 looks unassuming: a closed door decorated with colored paper.
Inside that door, however, is a room full of tools to help special education students master the tasks that will help them gain independence.
The room contains a fully functioning apartment, including a bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, family area and bedroom. It's a new wrinkle in the school's special education program that also includes a second classroom and coffee shop area where students work to earn mock paychecks, track their finances, pay bills and learn every hypothetical aspect of adult life.
The idea for the room and coffee shop area came in March when special education teacher Samantha Flanhofer applied for a Jack Buncher Foundation Bernita Buncher Educational Advancement Fund grant for $21,554.
The full amount was awarded to build the apartment, with last year's special education students — dubbed by Flanhofer as “the founding fathers” — working to putty, sand and paint the room. Flanhofer and a team of paraprofessionals worked to create the cafe area over the summer, while maintenance crews from the district did plumbing and electrical work. Lowe's Home Improvement in Cranberry Township worked to put the apartment together, with everything ready for the beginning of school earlier this month.
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The room allows for Flanhofer and her team to teach students about the aspects of daily life — from hanging a bathroom mirror to deep-cleaning couch cushions to cooking their own meals.On Mondays, students make a grocery list for their operational kitchen.“On Fridays they cook for me to see how well they do,” Flanhoffer said.Down the hall, students work at the Rocket Fuel Cafe, serving coffee and snacks to their classmates and teachers during homeroom and the first four class periods of the day. Flanhofer said between 30 and 40 students and staff visit the cafe each morning.The cafe has a fully functioning cash register and teaches students how to take orders and serve customers in a professional manner. If a student wants to take a “day off” from work, they must fill out the appropriate request form — just as they would at a real job.For their work, students earn “Mars Money,” which they keep on deposit in the “Flanhofer Bank.” From that account, they must pay bills such as electric, water and sewage and pay rent for the apartment.Students mail their bills through a post office located in the classroom's traditional learning space. Each bill has a different due date, which aims to teach students about finances as well as how to meet deadlines.Students must make decisions on whether they want to buy cable service, cell phone plans and other amenities. Those companies — including Grasshopper Wireless and Horizon — have names similar to major brands, which Flanhofer said is done on purpose.“It's all things that they will hear in their life, but it's a spinoff of it,” she said.The students were recently given $2,000 in Mars Money to furnish the family room in the apartment, and must pick and choose what items they feel will be useful in that space. They'll repeat the process with their bedroom area in the coming weeks.“They really understand money management,” through the exercises, Flanhofer said.The life skills room and cafe are part of the greater program, which also features a normal classroom component. Flanhofer said the three distinct areas allow for students' specific educational needs to be addressed.“My students that need basic help with folding and laundry are scheduled together, where my students that are in deep cleaning are over there,” working, she said. “All students are met at their levels.”Thus far, the program has been well received by all involved. Principal Lindsay Rosswog said the life skills room has provided hands-on experience that will equip students for whatever comes next in life.“It has also provided an opportunity for our entire school community to interact with one another,” she added. “Our general education students have always been helpful and gone out of their way to support our special education students, but through Mrs. Flanhofer's hard work, we now have an additional opportunity for both groups to support one another.”Most importantly, Flanhofer said the students are loving the chance to learn new skills, and are doing “exceptional.” She said while helping students learn valuable skills is the main focus, the program also offers a chance to build a student's confidence.“The other goal is to work on personal skills and social skills and being able to talk to individuals and be able to keep your head up and say hello and bring the sunshine to a rainy day,” she said.
