(Lander, WY) – Students in the Life Skills program at Lander Middle School (LMS) were recently treated to some exceptional training from folks at Mr. D’s Food Center, who organizers of the trip say went “above and beyond.”
The Life Skills program, which services grades 4-12, works with other programs within FCSD #1 and other Districts like Fort Washakie to attend job trainings such as these, where they also learn “appreciation for those that help us and what they all do to run a store.”
Chelsey Red Bow, a National Board Certified LMS Life Skills Special Education teacher going on her 15th year in the role, says that every other week the class goes shopping, where they work on “counting money, adding prices, and reading skills to find the correct item.”
“Community experiences help students learn what opportunities are out in our community to enjoy life and use academic skills in real-life situations,” Red Bow explained.
Recently however, Red Bow says that Mr. D’s really went “above and beyond” on one of these trips.
“They had thought out activities that all my students could participate in, like making hot and cold drinks, frosting cookies, and facing cereal boxes.”
“They were prepared for us,” Red Bow added, commenting that the whole trip was “a great experience for our students.”
The class had such a good experience, they wrote the following thank you letter to Mr. D’s, and shared some photos of the experience as well.
Other businesses and groups in the community work with the Life Skills program as well, including the Oxbow restaurant, the Trail Head in Riverton, the Libraries, Museum of the West, Silver Spur Bowling Alley, the Children’s Museum, Son Harvest Pumpkin Patch, Walmart, Dollar Store, The Rock Center, and many others,
Red Bow said that in addition to the trainings at Mr. D’s, her students also learn many other skills out in the community with the groups mentioned above, including “adding their scores in bowling, reading the information in a museum, reading a menu, ordering within a budget,” and much more.
As for what’s next for the class, Red Bow says, “This spring we plan to go to Nana’s and the museum in Dubois, Palace Pharmacy, the Pet Connection, Safeway, Sprouts Greenhouse, and Thermopolis for some swimming.”