Functional Academics

Students in the High School department will participate in a variety of functional academic courses. These classes provide students with the knowledge they need to have fulfilling adult  lives both in the home and community environments. All students within the High School Department take part in the following courses:

• History / Social Studies
• Math
• Science
• Reading: Weekly Reader, News-2-You, etc.
• Functional Vocabulary Development
• Social Skills

Functional Life Skills

Instruction in functional life skill tasks is an important aspect of the High School department curriculum. The skills we teach are grouped in five curricular domains.

1. Self care and domestic living
2. Recreation and leisure
3. Communication and social skills
4. Vocational skills
5. Skills vital for community participation.

The link between life skill acquisition and life quality is important for students with educational transition plans into adulthood. We know that increasing a person’s repertoire of life skills increases his or her independence and social competence. In the High School  department we carefully evaluate how and where skills are taught to ensure we focus on enhancing community membership and ultimately contribute to independence resulting in an improvement in quality of life. Specific skills taught include (but not limited to):  money and purchasing, community safety, functional sight word training in school and in the community, leisure options in the community, cleaning skills, cooking skills, laundry skills, and personal self care.

Community Based Instruction

Community Based Instruction (CBI) includes the components of preparation, action and reflection. These components connect the classroom and community learning experiences.

• Preparation refers to activities, which occur in the classroom prior to the CBI trip.
• Action refers to the actual activity taking place in the community environment. Activities could include recreation/leisure, purchasing, community service providers and social events.
• Reflection refers to evaluation or follow-up activities, which occur in the classroom following the CBI trip.

CBI emphasizes skill development with a goal toward independence. Basic skills are addressed such as functional math and reading, language/communication, motor, decision-making and social behaviors.

Community Enclave Instruction

Enclave Instruction provides a wide variety of work experiences that include general and grounds maintenance, office and retail.