A daily activity list for Madonna School Transition students
includes work tasks, cooking, cleaning, functional academics, and contract
work. Each item on this list is then individualized for each student. Pairs of
three to four students work together for hour increments and then switch
groups. The students complete these activities within the classroom, throughout
the campus, and in the community.
In the not too distant past, the home base for all this
planning, learning, coming and going was a small, one-room portable that sat
near the school’s playground. For five years, multiple teachers, job coaches,
and nearly 15 students enlivened the former Transition room with learning and
laughter. Not surprisingly, after five years, the program outgrew this small
space.
With the help of exceptional grant writing, generous giving,
and a large group of helping hands, the Transition program of the Madonna
School is now happily located inside a new wing of the building with a six-room
facility. This wing operates with much more than simply a classroom. In it,
students are able to utilize a full kitchen, practice bedroom, and workroom.
The facility is also equipped with two bathrooms, an office, and an additional
workstation that can be closed off with sliding walls.
