Life, Vocational & Community Based Instruction

In the REACH Academy's close to 15 years of operation, we have placed great emphasis in the development of transferable life and vocational skills. Although the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) is technically only available to students pursuing local and regents diplomas, we have committed to giving all students regardless of their academic track robust vocational and life skills experience aligned with the CDOS expectations.

We operate a school schedule that accommodates most students with the opportunity for a 90 minute every other day community based experience. We have developed a collection of community locations including gardens, greenhouses, food pantries, senior centers, markets and other local establishments. For those students who are not ready for the community, we offer in building experiences designed to prepare them for the community.

We feel that through these life and vocational experiences our students will be able to make the most of internship experiences offered as they near the end of their high school careers. Additionally most of our students will either graduate to the world of work, or to some type of supported setting. The skills learned in this component of our program will assist them in maximizing the opportunities available to them after graduation.

Students inside the food pantry box goods. A student stands in the front holding a box

Students prepare food at a table outside the school

Staff and students are outside at the food pantry bagging food for distribution

Students stand behind a table with rows of bags filling them with food

Students stand inside the food pantry smiling while one of them holds an open box of food

Students pull carts of bagged food from the food pantry towards the bus

Students and Ms. Sheridan their teacher pose in front of the main office with the bags of food they prepares

food laid out on a table in separate containers with each food labeled

A student holds a large bag of potatoes at the food pantry

Students and staff pose for a group photo in class with their food project

Students help each other place all the bagged food inside the bus for transportation from the food pantry

A student weighs fruit at the grocery store

A student stands next to Ms. Sheridan behind a table covered with food to help prepare it

the class is shopping in a grocery store

Students choose bread to purchase in the grocery store

A student enters food into the self check out

Garden Program

For the past 11 years REACH Academy has partnered with Our New Way Garden Inc (ournewwaygarden.com) to develop a garden program as a part of the Life, Vocational and Transition work at the school.

The garden program gives students hands on learning experiences at four sites in the community tended by Our New Way Garden: the greenhouse at Pepsico headquarters with a classroom for winter and rainy day lessons, an active 4.5 acre organic vegetable farm with a fruit tree orchard, and two additional one acre gardens.

In addition to learning life and work skills around food production, students have the opportunity to participate in farmers markets, work with honeybees and medicinal plants, visit food pantries to deliver produce, and connect with nature in therapeutic and educational settings.