Connecting students at Castle Valley Center with the community has been one of the main goals of the school this year, and the teachers and staff continue to do that with an emphasis on students being self-sufficient in the world.
“I am very excited about the direction we are going, not only with what we are doing this year but what we intend to do next year,” said Amy Bell, the Principal of the school. “We are working to incorporate more and more functional activities and skills into our academics.”
This year the school has worked hard to get students to understand what it means to trade one thing for another, such as money for something they want. The concession stand that the school has been using has been quite successful, and students have liked it. Bell says that it teaches “numerous skills in one shot.”
“At this point in the year we are really seeing improvement among students on their skills,” she stated. “For instance non-verbal kids who were really struggling in making choices earlier in the year now come right in and they know what we are doing. Our higher functioning students are actually understanding how to use coins and money and exchanging that money for things they want. It gives them real experience and also makes it more meaningful.”
Some students that can’t grasp the meaning of money are understanding what it is like to exchange something for another item they want. Other students who have more severe disabilities are just learning to make a choice. Because the staff knows the students wants, they can put two things out there for students to pick from and then they need to make a choice.
“For some of the students it is difficult to just attend to what is being offered them, and what we are doing teaches them to make a choice in what they want,” explained Bell. “Previously they didn’t even pay attention to what we were offering and now they are looking right at it and will pick which one they like.”
She pointed out along with this the students are gaining social skills such as learning to wait for something, to stand in line, to take turns, and they are increasing their communication with others. They just can’t point to what they want, but they are saying words to tell people what they desire. “
“Next year we are going incorporate cooking classes into the school,” she said, “There are some teachers that have done that over the years but now we are going to make that happen for the whole school and connect it to reading, using visual schedules for students who can’t read by using picture menus, while connecting it to other things we teach at the school to make it all more meaningful. For instance a half cup is just a half cup (on any kind of cup) unless one is using a measuring cup for a functional purpose."
They are also going to develop a laundry center so students can learn how to do their own laundry.
“That again will bring us back to some of the academic skills we have been teaching such as reading and mathematics, such as in sorting and matching clothing,” she said. “That would put it in a real world application and in functional self care.”
The school has also been pursuing a mailbox system where teachers and students can write things to other classes and individuals. Every classroom has a box number. A “mail person” has been selected to deliver the mail to the boxes and that has been an education for that student. Others have learned to express their feelings about people and to put them into words. It’s part of the schools “Nice Hands, Nice Feet, Nice Voice” behavior program and the mail system focus on the words people use to express themselves. The system also delivers things classes make or procure for others in the school such as cards and even treats.
“Its a good social exchange and gives them a chance to do something nice for others,” stated Bell.
Another thing that has been done is to teach students about safety and courtesy while in the community. For instance there are some crosswalks painted on the school's playground and students are taught how to use them and obey safety signals.
“We have focused on community signs such as stop signs and exit signs,” said Bell, “We are concentrating on all the safety signs. We are practicing this in a structured setting and then later we will go downtown and out into the real world to see how students function with what they have learned. These activities also tie in their vocabulary lessons and communication.”
Anyone who drives by the school can also see there are big changes taking place on the physical space of the building as well. Equipment has already removed the lawn from in front of the school and soon workers will begin the construction of an additional parking area.. This not only will provide more parking for the campus, which has been badly needed, but also will perform another function as well.
“That is part of our on-going security upgrade. Right now we have to look after two entry ways into the school with one being where the parking is now located and the other being the front door. This new lot will bring people around to the main doors so we can then control access to the school more easily. There will be a couple of slots of short term parking so people who come to the school will come through the main doors. The construction schedule is such that it should be done by the time school starts next year,” concluded Bell.
