By Danyka Galvan
Not many people know about the 18-21 program at Northwest or what they do. Even though they are often overlooked, they are still hard at work helping around our school with things like emptying recycling bins and keeping our school clean, making it a place that students want to be.
“The 18-21 program provides services for a student in special education who needs support in independent living skills before the age of 21,” said Kenzie Mollring.
Mollring is the special services teacher for Northwest. Working alongside her is Paraeducator Jon Linden.
“To me, this is a life skill program where we teach life skills (How to cook, stay organized, use transporation and social media) for kids who need a little extra help and reinforcement,” Linden said.
The program gives these students an extra stepping stone into their indepent futures. In order to achieve this independence, their schedule is a little different than our everyday eight-period day.
“Throughout the day, we try to help them look for certain things that they didn’t even know were out there in the world to help them out,” Linden said.
Students also work on “budgeting, cooking, safety around the home, general safety pieces with technology and all the pieces that you need to learn along the way,” Mollring said. “These skills are taught to help them learn how to maintain a job. We give them feedback on their job performance so that they can improve and become more independent.”
In his journey to gain independence, Josh DeMuth is learning many skills not only in but also outside of the high school.
“I go to 1R school to help with the cafeteria, serving kids and cleaning up. I then help in the cafeteria at Northwest when I get back,” DeMuth said.
These students do a lot more for our school than what one might expect. This year they are starting to help out in the agricultural classes in the greenhouse.
In the greenhouse, another 18-21 student, Jared Fredericks helps water the plants.
Students in the 18-21 program will then get to take these skills that they learn and implement them in their future jobs. DeMuth said he wants to work at a motel.
“I really like to keep things neat,” DeMuth said. “I think that it would be really cool to clean rooms.”
This year, with COVID-19 affecting everyone’s day-to-day routine, these students have a busy schedule helping out the school by filling sanitizer bottles, filling water jugs and making sure to frequently sanitize around the school, especially the major touchpoints, such as doors, faucets and tables.
By learning and being prepared for their futures these students are really looking forward to becoming independent and getting into the world, increasing their excitement for the future.
“I am a friendly, dedicated person,” DeMuth said. “I can’t wait until I get a real job. I know that I would be a great employee because I don’t argue and I do my job.”
Each of these students puts in hard work to help in around the school and to prepare for their futures. We thank these students for all that they do.
*Photo Courtesy of Kenzie Mollring
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