The dining room at the Sarah Chudnow Community was filled with residents enjoying lunch. Noticeable among them were two students who efficiently went from table to table filling water glasses, removing plates and chatting with everyone they saw.
The students were enrolled in the school-to-work program at Homestead High School in Mequon. They were working at SCC as part of their training.
During the school year, four days each week, three students and their teacher would arrive at SCC to assist with lunch and the laundry room. On one particular day, two students, Ana and Sonia, were in the dining room, while the third, Jeremy, was in the laundry folding towels and washcloths.
The enrolled students were 18 to 21 and developmentally challenged. Through the program they had the opportunity to work in community businesses or institution and gain work skills as well as “soft skills,” including promptness, responsibility, receiving and following directions, and dressing in appropriate work attire.
This past school year was the SCC’s first experience with students in the school-to-work program.
Beth Draper, volunteer coordinator, admitted that at first she was unsure about the program, but after seeing the benefits of having the students at SCC, she was thrilled.
Relationships flourished between students and residents and everyone benefitted, she said.
“It was a win-win situation for everyone,” she said. “The students gained valuable work experience and we had extra help. Most importantly, the students gave to the residents and the residents gave to the students.”
The students’ teacher, Gail Kochelek, was new to the Mequon-Thiensville school district. As a school-to-work teacher, she was seeking additional placements for students, and contacted SCC.
Kochelek had worked with other school districts with students in similar programs and knew that a relationship with SCC would be mutually beneficial.
The students worked at SCC Monday through Thursday, noon to 2 p.m., and spent the majority of their time in the dining room — except for Jeremy, who preferred to work in the laundry.
The staff members at SCC came to rely on the students and their work, and said the students would be missed during the summer, when school is not in session.
Sonia and Ana, who worked in the dining room, folded napkins, bussed tables, filled water glasses and helped keep the dining room clean. But what made the residents happy to see the girls was the girls’ interest in the residents.
The students in the program had goals to meet; and one of Sonia’s and Ana’s goals was to talk with residents. While the girls worked to fulfill a goal, they were bringing smiles to many faces through their questions, asking residents what they like to do, how they were feeling or simply chatting about the weather.
In addition to conversation, Sonia enjoyed giving resident the bracelets she makes.
As mentioned, Jeremy enjoyed spending his time in the laundry area. When the students first began at SCC they all worked in the dining room, and if there was time remaining before they went back to school, they would fold linens. Little by little, Jeremy spent less time in the dining room and more in the laundry.
Often when people think of volunteering at SCC, they imagine interfacing the residents, but they don’t realize how many other opportunities are available and how working “behind the scenes” can be of help.
Theresa Otte, director of dinning services, said of the students, “We miss them every day. We can’t wait until they come back.”
Kochelek was thrilled that the students had such positive experiences and is working with SCC during this school year. She is also hoping to find additional opportunities for students within SCC, such as mail or newspaper delivery.
This SCC collaboration with Homestead High School is just one example of how SCC is reaching out to the greater North Shore community to form partnerships and be active members of the larger community.
SCC leaders hope the community will collaborate with them through volunteer opportunities, or by attending the SCC concerts, lectures and performances that are free and open to the public.
Said Paul J. Schultz, SCC administrator, of the school-to-work partnership: “We really enjoyed having the students working with us and view it as one more link we have to the greater community in which Sarah Chudnow Community is located.”
This article was provided by Jan Druetzler-Katz of PKA Marketing.
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