Pawling High School Principal Helen Callan stood near a salad bar bursting with pops of color. Crisp green lettuce and fresh grape tomatoes sat next to grilled chicken and jewel-toned cranberries. She smiled widely as she picked up a bottle with a homemade label: “Ginger Dressing.”
“We made that,” Berney B. piped up from further down the table as he carefully organized a tray of fruit.
“Really, Berney?” said Callan. “Well, I’m going to have to try it then!”
Pawling High School’s faculty room transformed into a salad bar on January 18 as students in the school’s Preparing Responsible Individuals for Daily Experiences (PRIDE) program served up a nutritious meal at their “Healthy Eating Sunshine” event. Just one of many events scheduled throughout the year, the meal was entirely planned and executed by the students through their “PRIDE Perk Cafe” initiative.
PRIDE is a special education program that aims to help students develop practical and social skills, healthy habits, financial literacy and community engagement through real-world experiences. The program also encourages students to interact with their peers, take responsibility for their work and explore their post-secondary options.
Special education teacher Stacy Dumont said that though the PRIDE Perks Cafe is their largest initiative, it is just one facet of the diverse enterprises within the program.
“We run a bunch of different businesses and the cafe is one example, but we also do weaving, crafting, landscaping and more,” she said. “All of these things generate income that the students reinvest into new materials, and the whole experience offers opportunities to develop a range of practical and social skills.”
Not only do their undertakings provide a chance to exercise these skills, but they also offer flexible experiences that are easily altered to incorporate classroom lessons. For example, students applied their studies about sustainability and environmental issues to the “Healthy Eating Sunshine” cafe by using only reusable plates, bowls and utensils, bringing the dishes back to their classroom to wash afterward. They also used their unit about healthy eating and the food groups to inform their choices about what to prepare for the meal.
“We had to categorize the food,” said Berney. “We have to make sure we have a good balance.”
“My favorite part was making the vegetables for the pasta,” added Brandon N. “It was healthier because it was whole wheat, too.”
“We’ve been learning about the food groups,” explained Dumont. “You can see how it synthesizes everything they learn separately.”
Callan praised events like “Healthy Eating Sunshine” as an opportunity for the PRIDE students to engage with the school community and showcase their talents, explaining how they align with the program's mission of fostering inclusion and connection among students and staff.
“Having PRIDE in our school puts the whole idea of inclusivity into action,” Callan said. “This program was put together in part to make sure these students can play a vibrant role in our community, which is something extremely important to us.
“It also lets students who aren’t in the program interact with them,” she continued. “They learn that they’re more alike than different and have more in common than they might think.”
This year the PRIDE program will learn about public transportation by planning train and Loop bus trips. They are also looking to expand their enterprises by working with Career and Technical Education Teacher Zsolt Vass, who is helping them to develop plant skills to grow vegetables and herbs as well as beautify the school courtyard.
PRIDE students are also currently preparing to present their work at a Board of Education meeting for the first time, where they will gain experience with public speaking and use their social-emotional skills to adapt to any challenges.
“We’re always looking for new things to expose them to – and new ways to expose them to familiar concepts,” said Dumont.
Director of Pupil Personnel Services Scott Rice said that witnessing student growth is one of the most rewarding parts of his position – and the PRIDE program is a big part of that.
“The high school PRIDE class provides the kind of nurturing support that serves as a catalyst for student growth and achievement,” he said. “The classroom staff, related service providers and building leader Helen Callan should be applauded for their creativity and flexibility in providing such a rich and varied program for our students.”
Callan emphasized that the PRIDE program owes its success to the numerous individuals who have supported it through the years, including Dumont, Occupational Therapist Caroline Bennett and retired Speech Language Pathologist Terie Konchan who conceived the program in 2014 as well as the following dedicated Pawling staff members:
Talia Mariella (Teaching Assistant)
Theresa Walsh (Teacher’s Aide)
Barbara Schiavone (Teacher’s Aide)
Karen Wolf (Speech and Language Pathologist)
Carrie Gebbie (School Psychologist)
Sharnee Morales-Kelly (Social Worker)
Stephanie Mangano (Physical Therapist)
“The entire team constantly works to develop meaningful experiences that mimic the real world and help prepare our students for post-secondary life,” she said. “These dedicated professionals are always seeking new experiences, and we are so grateful for them.”
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