Look what’s cooking
West Greene students make Rice Crispy treats during their life skills class last Wednesday. The kitchen appliances were donated by various businesses over the past year.
West Greene students make Rice Krispies treats during their life skills class last Wednesday. The kitchen appliances were donated by various businesses over the past year.
ROGERSVILLE – West Greene School District has been cooking up a plan to expand its life skills program for students with special needs. With a new kitchen to work in, that plan can now be put into practice.
During the past year, the district has been collecting kitchen appliances as donations, like a stove, microwave and cabinets, for the seventh- to 12th-grade students to use in their life skills class.
“Part of their curriculum is self-sufficiency,” West Greene High School Principal Scott Sakai said. “We’re teaching them essential skills that they’ll need beyond high school.”
Jed Hamberger, assistant principal of the high school, said the district received about $7,000 worth of donations from the community and local businesses over the past year. The kitchen was finally ready to use at the start of the school year, he said.
The district declined to release names of any of the students in the life skills class, but one of the students said in an interview last week that she wanted to be a chef after high school. She said her mother was very proud of the work she’s been able to do in the new kitchen.
“We get to do things that we never got to do before,” she said.
Haley Bissett, the life skills teacher, said her eight students use the kitchen to learn how to wash dishes, cook and understand kitchen safety tips. She said reading the recipes helps them with reading comprehension, and taking measurements helps them with math.
She said the students prepared a Thanksgiving feast around the holiday and that every day they do some sort of learning exercise in the kitchen.
“The kids have gained a lot more independence when cooking at home, too,” Bissett said. “We go over kitchen safety before everything that they do.”