Rinesa Kabashi staff writer
V27: a classroom hidden in the back of the village. Many students do not know that this is the educational hub of half of the Special Education program.
The Special Education Program is split into two programs. There is the high school program and the transition program. Prime Special Education teacher Elizabeth Schwab is in charge of both. The high school program works on more functional based life skills so that students can learn to become independent individuals.
“Our academics in the high school program are very functional. We are working on money math, time, addition, subtraction and some multiplication. We are working with word problems–things that they are going to be able to really apply in their everyday life,” Schwab said.
The students work across five different domains: functional academics, domestic, community, recreation and leisure, and vocation.  In each of these domains they address skills. Schwab explains that all of these domains are preparing the students to become independent in those areas.
“For the domain of community our students have community outings. First, we vote on where we are going. Then we look up what the bus route is and they create a plan. If we are going to a restaurant, then we look up the menu and plan what our budget is going to be based on the prices,” Schwab explained. “Same thing for domestics. We work on a lot of those everyday home skills–washing dishes, doing laundry and cooking.”
After completing the high school program, students move on to the transition program where they are more interactive with the community.
“A lot of students in the transition program are working with paying bills, writing checks and creating or following a budget,” Schwab said.
All five of Schwab’s transition students are out and about in the community working.
“They are all employed at various locations in the community. We have two at the cafeteria, one student is in the office at Horace Mann, another student is working at Pet Express and my fifth student is working at a production studio where they shoot videos and edit them,” Schwab said.
The transitional program has been around for only two years;, Schwab has been with those students since they were sophomores.