Cleveland, OH
Sheffield Village
By John Edwards
Brookside High School’s students with multiple disabilities are so happy about their new classroom that they’re turning it into a café every Thursday. The classroom, formerly used for home economics classes, has been under construction since mid-August, with the cost of the makeover paid from federal special education stimulus funds. The remodeling job was completed last month.
“Our old classroom was not able to meet our special needs,” special education teacher and Special Olympics coordinator Chris Chidlaw said. “We moved to a new room with much more space, and it was converted to meet our needs. We were able to keep the cost of materials under budget and also get everything we needed for the room. There are two kitchens, one with appliances that are ADA compliant for students that use wheelchairs. Our other appliances have a typical layout.
“The purpose of this new room is to meet the functional living needs and goals of students with multiple disabilities,” Chidlaw continued. “My students are working on developing skills to allow them to live as independently as possible before they graduate. Students will work on cooking typical meals that they might make for themselves at home, doing laundry and other self-care skills.”
To celebrate their new space (and raise funds for a field trip), the class will run a “restaurant” – for staff only – called the “Cardinal Café.” One day a week, the Cardinal Café will specialize in made-to-order sub sandwiches. (The class can’t sell subs to students due to federal free and reduced lunch laws.) Still, they’ll be working on skills they might use in a job at a restaurant. Cardinal Café’s profits will be used to raise funds for a class field trip next spring.
The Cardinal Café premiered Thursday with a well-attended free taco lunch for faculty, staff and administrators. Everyone seemed to enjoy the kids’ tacos, and some applauded as they praised the students’ cooking and serving skills. The students appeared to be having a great time serving them. Chidlaw started things off with a statement and a thank you about the new room.
“I would like to thank the teachers who gave up their rooms so we could use this room for the multiple needs of our students,” Chidlaw said. “Many people at the administration building were instrumental in helping to make all this possible.
“Jerry Roelke, Bob Massari, Steve Parker and Charlie Bennett were the main school employees working on the room construction and installation of the kitchen and laundry area. They spent many long nights and weekends working very hard to put everything together. A big thanks goes out to them for all their hard work and effort. They made everything very functional for my students, and it looks nice, too. Class, what are we going to do with the money we earn?”
The students, all smiles, responded together: “Go to Cedar Point!”
Contact John Edwards at news@2presspapers.com
Tags: Sheffield Village
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