The Comprehensive Life Skills (CLS) special education program at Lowry High School teaches students the life skills they need to be as successful and independent as possible before they move on to the next phase of their lives after graduation.
Recently, a generous donation from Hal Phillips (Phillips Furniture) helped keep one vital part of that program running. Phillips donated a new washer, dryer and dishwasher to the life skills class. Julie Wood, who teaches the class, said the students were working with a 15-year-old washer/dryer set and a leaking dishwasher prior to the donation.
"We really appreciate that donation," she said.
The CLS program has been at Lowry for about 10 years now, according to the LHS CLS Case Manager Leslie Molina, and she said the independence the students gain truly improves their quality of life.
"The goal is to make the kids as successful as possible and as independent as possible," she said.
Most students in the CLS program enter as freshman and stay until they "age out" at 22. Molina said there is a huge period of growth during that time.
"They come in with good basic skill sets and when they leave they have gained good communication skills and the ability to advocate for themselves," she said.
The CLS program covers a variety of subjects - the life skills portion is just one aspect. The program also has a community-based instruction class that takes students out of the school and into the real-world environment that they will have to navigate after graduation. Wood said the goal is to get the students ready to be as independent as possible.
According to Molina, the overall purpose of the entire CLS program is to "integrate through inclusion as much as possible with the proper support." By taking students out to lunch, grocery shopping, to the bank and post office, they are learning skills that will be used down the road and also getting a glimpse into industries they might find suitable for employment. All aspects of the program lead to improving quality of life, she said.
"That's our long term goal," Molina said. "That these kids have the best access to the best quality of life possible."
The program is adaptable and each student who is a part of it is different. While some stay in the classroom all day and attend each CLS class (the program covers a variety of subjects, including math and English), others come and go depending on their needs and abilities. Molina said the school makes an effort to work with each student individually.
One of the main focuses for each student is socialization, according to Molina. Community connections and a core group of friends are two of the many things the CLS program helps its students acquire.
"We make sure they have access to the socialization piece," she said.
Some of the ways that is accomplished is through school dances, attending sporting events and participating in the Special Olympics. Molina said most of the students in the CLS program are involved in the Special Olympics and that offers them an opportunity to meet other students throughout the state. It also allows the students to work on their independence, she said.
"Independence truly increases quality of life," she said, which, according to Molina and Wood, is the desired outcome of the district's CLS program.
Contact Jessica Powell at j.powell@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
