The Life Skills department is currently creating a living lab that will be finalized and in use during the current semester. The room will be used to help students with learning real skills that will be useful for activities after high school.

“My hope is that these kids are able to function by themselves if they are home without their parents,” assistant principal Melisa Dukes said. “They deserve to be able to complete tasks around the house.”

  Caleb McLelland will be the main teacher working in the living lab. The goal is that students are able to be at home without parents for a few hours and take care of themselves.

“Nothing is more satisfying than watching a student fold laundry, sort colors, tie their shoes, and make chocolate chip cookies,” Mclelland said. “We serve God by serving others. My classroom is run off of that platform.”

The lab will be modeled after an apartment so the students can practice in mock living quarters. There will be a kitchen, washer and dryer, couch, and a bed system being built by the shop students.

“Showing students how to take care of the little things in life is a love from us here, and a goal,”  Mclleland said. “We want these students to have a chance of knowing and understanding the basic needs of taking care of their own needs.”

Casey Wynne, transition specialist, is also assisting in the creation and teaching of the lab. Wynne and Leigh Parker, assistant director of special programs, wrote the grant to receive funding for the lab.

          “I am excited about the real-life experience we will be allowed to offer our students with disabilities,” Wynne said. “We want all students to be prepared for their future.”