CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — If you step into the portable classroom at Flour Bluff High School, you might not feel like you’re in a classroom. It feels more like a home — a home with a kitchen and bedroom.
It’s this 'home' where students with Down Syndrome and others who are developmentally challenged get to learn life skills in Flour Bluff ISD’s Ready, Set, Go program.
“I do, like, dishes, laundry, trash, sweep, mop, tables, bed, microwave, and vacuuming,” said Sheyenne Madison, a student in the program.
Students also learn how to cook and make a budget for the grocery store. Teachers take them to H-E-B once a week and teach them how to buy healthy food.
“I like going to the grocery store because I like cooking,” said Delayne Gatton, with a big smile on her face.
Students also learn how to make T-shirts for the Flour Bluff spirit store. The money they make from selling the T-shirts goes back into the program.
“I do good by folding it and putting it back where it goes,” said Kaylee Work about her time making T-shirts for the spirit store.
Most of the students in the program have already graduated from high school. The program teaches them how to make a résumé and connects them with jobs in the community like at the Coastal Bend Food Bank, Texas State Aquarium, and U.S.S. Lexington.
“It’ll help them become employed after high school," said Meghan Jones, who teaches in the program. "It’ll help them be as independent as possible, so they won’t have to rely on others to do things for them.”
However, even though students are learning life skills, the Ready, Set, Go program is also an opportunity for them to connect with students just like them.
“My favorite part is being here with all my friends and my teachers,” Gatton said.
