SHS program develops 'life skills'

Josh Nordell and his Life Skills class at Sisters High School have been working with students with varying degrees of mental and physical challenges for several years. Life Skills is a class that partners general-education students, known as mentors, with special-needs students to give them life experiences and help support their learning and transitioning after high school.

Students in the class are partnered with general-education mentors where they get special support for their studies, participate in activities like tae kwon do, golf, cooking classes, and working with local businesses.

New this year, the Life Skills class created the Coffee Crew during first period. Students design their own coffee cups with special sayings and artwork and deliver coffee to teachers throughout the school.

"(The Coffee Crew) is awesome and fun, easily one of the best things I've done in high school," said Riley Garcia. "I get to know the other teachers more when I deliver their coffee."

Principal Joe Hosang enjoys his cup every morning.

"I like going around and selling coffee with the other kids," said Brock Coffey. "It's cool that I get to help them with a job."

Recently, changes at the state level with executive orders 13-04 and 15-01 require people with intellectual disabilities to work in an "integrated employment setting," meaning they work alongside people without disabilities. Nordell's class does just that.

Community members may remember local nonprofits like The Opportunity Foundation, which worked with special-needs adults and provided access to jobs in a specified location. The work they provided was considered a "sheltered workshop." The recent executive orders from the state eliminated funding for all sheltered workshop-style organizations.

The elimination of funding for sheltered workshop agencies has encouraged schools to continue to create more individualized training and employment opportunities for the students that fit the qualifications.

This fall, the Sisters School District has worked with Heart of Oregon and the State of Oregon's Vocational Rehab and Oregon Department of Human Services to create more jobs. Through Heart of Oregon they will hire four job trainers for students in the SHS Life Skills program.

"We will be taking Life Skills mentors, once they turn 18, and hiring them into a part-time job trainer," said Nordell. "This is a great opportunity to get job trainers for our local community and for the student hired. A position like this is a great step into the field of social work."

In addition to the partnership with Vocational Rehab, the Sisters School District has hired four Life Skills students for custodial work within the schools. Students help with vacuuming, cleaning windows, removing trash from under the bleachers after football games and cleaning computer keyboards.

The four positions were developed specifically for the students hired: Max Huni, Michaela Madsen, Brian Groat and Levi Vigil.

"We worked hard to create jobs that will train these students so we can help them transition into a community job," said Dan Saraceno, the youth transition specialist and counselor for the Sisters School District. "Some of these students (due to their varying needs of support) may not be able to transition into a different location. The job within the District will be available to them as long as they want to continue with it."

Students don't work more than two hours a day, and many of the jobs are primarily during the school day.

Junior Max Huni says, "My job, cleaning windows. It's going pretty well. I'm still learning things - but I'm glad I get paid!"

Huni is saving his money for a new Nintendo Switch game system that comes out next spring.

Senior Brian Groat has been vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning. He is also saving his money for the new NBA2K17 video game.

"I like picking up the trash under the bleachers the best," said Groat.

"This program adds value and raises their self-esteem," said Nordell. "They get a uniform and are participating in work that is benefitting the school."