Grants help Huntley High students learn life skills

Each week they head out into the community, practicing skills that many of us take for granted.

They learn how to handle money and open bank accounts.

They try patiently waiting in line at local businesses.

And they try to fill out applications.

Once they get back to their classroom, these skills are reinforced for the students in the Life Strategies program at Huntley High School.

Each year for the past three years, Harris Bank Huntley and the Education Foundation for Huntley Area schools have worked together to help students in both the Life Strategies program and in the school's Strategy Ed program enhance their life skills through grant funds.

Over the years, Harris has donated $7,500 to the program. And just recently, the bank pledged another $2,500 to the programs for next year.

The funds have been used in a number of creative ways to reinforce student skills.

Recently, the students in the Life Strategies class -- all of whom have cognitive disabilities or autism -- and the Strategy Ed class showed off their newly learned skills for the donors.

They invited Foundation members and Harris Bank employees to their Friday classes, where they learn to cook.

For their guests, students made a strawberry asparagus salad.

"You could see this program is really a good thing for the kids," said Pam Morton, who's been with Harris Bank for 22 years. "It was nice to get out there and see where our sponsorship dollars are going. It's really worthwhile.

"The program helps them with the skills they need. When they cooked for us, they each had a job to do. They learned how to cook their part and they learned teamwork. It was really interesting seeing them take responsibility and do their part, and to see them learn something that will help them in life."

Seven students, freshmen to seniors, participate in the Life Strategies program. It covers the core academics of reading, English, math, science and social studies, while also stressing life skills, teacher Deb Udelhofen said. Strategy Ed also covers core academics, though the students have a wide range of ability with less need for life skills training, she added.

Through the curriculum in the Life Strategies class, the teachers work with students on skills such as filling out applications and forms, understanding and handling money, telling time, writing complete sentences, knowing personal information and using a calculator.

"And many more skills most of us take for granted that are not so easy for these students," Udelhofen said.

They also take weekly outings into the community to reinforce the curriculum and practice the skills.

Recently, the students also have started in-school jobs at to help them develop job skills that will help prepare them for employment in the community, Udelhofen said.

"The goal of this program is to satisfy academic needs and give the students an opportunity to develop and practice life skills which will help them to be as independent as possible as an adult," she said.

With the Harris Bank and Education Foundation grant funds, the teachers have been able to expand upon these skills.

The money helps pay for the weekly cooking sessions for both the Life Strategies and Strategy Ed classes.

In addition to the salad students served their guests, they've also learned to make a wide variety of recipes they also could make independently at home. They now are experts at making smoothies, salads, dessert and many simple meals.

"Someday, they will need to cook for themselves and preparing them at school gives them an opportunity to measure, use appliances and experiment," Udelhofen said.

The grant funds have also helped pay for a woodworking unit during which the students made bookshelves or bird houses. The program helped reinforce the skills of measuring and using tools, she said.

Throughout the year there are many projects the teachers want to do with the students that their regular budget cannot pay for. That's where the grant funds come in. They've also helped pay for an Earth Day project in which the students painted cloth grocery bags; for classroom calculators and a therapy session at the Light Center, as well as a year-end outing.

"It's great for them," Morton said. "They need these skills in life, and you can see that doing these things at school helps. It's great the sponsorship dollars can help."