Suncoast Credit Union

To immerse students in learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Learning does not just take place in a classroom but transfers out into the community. My goal is to engage my students with special needs in the community. These opportunities will allow them to practice many skills they will need for a successful life, learn social skills and better understand the community they live in. It will also allow the community to see my students as contributing members of society. Students will make real life connections between what is learned in the classroom and why those skills are needed in life.

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Learning Throughout the Community

School:
Sea Gate Elementary 
Subject:
Special Needs Students 
Teacher:
Kristyn Stetson 
Students Impacted:
18 
Grade:
K-5 
Date:
August 26, 2022

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

 

Suncoast Credit Union - $730.00

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Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 14

 Students in my classroom were able to engage in community-based learning trips. My students travelled to the Independent Living Skills Lab and received hands-on-learning experiences about how to take care of a house. They also got to cook and enjoy a meal together. Another trip took us shopping at Publix. Before our trip to Publix, students created shopping lists of food items to purchase for our cooking program. When we went shopping my students followed their lists to find all the items, counted out the correct amount of money to pay the cashier and collected their change. They also had taken orders for sub sandwiches before the trip and then ordered the subs at the deli counter in order to practice their communication skills. My students also got to travel to the Bonita Assistance Office. There they learned about giving back to the community as they worked together to put packages of food together for those in the community in need. Additionally, my students were able to visit the Naples Players Theater. There they saw the different areas of the theater and the jobs that take place in each area. They got to engage in improv lessons that worked on self-confidence, communication and self-esteem skills The Everglades Wonder Gardens was another trip my students took. They investigated different animals and learned about the differences between types of animals and their characteristics. Throughout this school year, I have seen tremendous growth in many skills of my students. They were put in different situations out in the community and experienced that learning can take place outside of the walls of a classroom. All of my students have speech and language delays and the skill of communication was hugely benefited by our trips. Students also received many life skills lessons that are helping them to build a solid foundation on which to increase their independence in the future. Ask my students what they learned in math yesterday and they would be able to tell you addition or subtraction. Ask them what they learned at the Bonita Assistance Office three months ago and they will tell you all about the job of the people there and how many of each food item they put into the bag. I have found my students learn best and remember the new knowledge through hands on and real lifeexperiences and this is exactly what this grant allowed my students to do. 

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Trip to Publix

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Trip to Independent Learning Lab

 

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Trip To Bonita Assistance Office

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Trip to Naples Players

 

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Trip to Everglades Wonder Gardens

 

Original Grant Overview

Goal

To immerse students in learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Learning does not just take place in a classroom but transfers out into the community. My goal is to engage my students with special needs in the community. These opportunities will allow them to practice many skills they will need for a successful life, learn social skills and better understand the community they live in. It will also allow the community to see my students as contributing members of society. Students will make real life connections between what is learned in the classroom and why those skills are needed in life.  

 

What will be done with my students

The local community provides very rich learning experiences for students. Experiences in the community will allow students to make connections outside of the classroom and see what sorts of careers use the skills they are learning at school. There will be one community-based learning experience a month for seven months.

October- We will travel to the Naples Depot Museum to learn about the history of Naples and different types of transportation.

November- We will travel to the Independent Living Skills Lab to work on map skills and following step by step directions.

December- We will visit a local supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom and practice our money skills.

January - We will visit the Everglades Wonder Gardens and see the different shapes animals have and how they use those shapes/characteristics to live.

February- We will visit Loves Key State Park to learn how animals and plants survive on an island.

April- We will visit Farmer Mikes to learn about where food comes from and then restaurant to learn about the jobs of a chef.

May- We will visit a local supermarket to shop for cooking supplies for our classroom and practice our money skills. We will also order food at the supermarket to practice our communication skills.  

 

Benefits to my students

The benefits to my students will be life changing. All of my students have intellectual disabilities and struggle with academic skills as well as social and communication skills. Life skills education and community-based learning are natural ways to encourage these skills in my students. Students will work on following a grocery list as they shop, practice paying for the items they buy and communicating with people in the community. They also will gain a greater understanding about places they can go for leisure activities in the community. Each location we visit corresponds to our unit of study for the month, so students will be able to generalize what they learned in the classroom, with what they are experiencing in the community. These opportunities will allow my students to learn skills that will set a strong foundation for them as they advance through school and eventually go through our transition programs and into the community as adults. Another big part of this learning is to help educate the community on acceptance of people with special needs and to help show our students in a positive light, so they feel that they belong wherever they go.    

 

Budget Narrative

Each community-based learning program will be 2-3 hours, so there will be transportation costs. The cost of a bus is $40.06 an hour. The total cost for buses comes to $727.62. The cost of cooking supplies and any admission fees will be covered through school funding.  

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 Buses $730.00
  Total: $730.00

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union