The Life Skills High School Self-Contained program is designed to empower and prepare students for success in various aspects of their lives. This comprehensive course provides a nurturing and inclusive environment where students with diverse needs and abilities can acquire essential life skills, including personal, social, vocational, and academic skills. Through a combination of hands-on experiences, interactive activities, and real-world applications, students will embark on a transformative journey of personal growth and development.

Special Education Course Description

Special Education – Life Skills Support

Grades 6-12

The Life Skills Support Program consists of a functional based curriculum designed around students’ current IEP goals and objectives.  While the major subject areas of reading and math are taught in preparation for the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA), a major component to the curriculum is Community Based Instruction (CBI), with an emphasis on students age 14 or older transitioning to post-secondary life. Classes offered in the Life Skills Program are Functional Mathematics, Functional Language Arts, and Pre- Vocational Skills. To enroll in these courses, students must have an IEP and placement is at the discretion of the special education team.

• Pre-Vocational Skills- This course is designed to provide simulation and instruction of certain skills in order to prepare special needs students for potential employment and life after graduation. The tasks that students perform are created to be completed independently and provide opportunity to develop communication skills. Students may sort and organize mail to deliver to various mailboxes and offices, sort and launder items donated to the clothing closet, prepare food and drink items for the Comet Cafe, and develop attitudes and work habits that contribute to success at home and school.

• Functional Mathematics-This course is designed to provide direct instruction in an alternate curriculum in order to improve students’ functional Mathematical skills. The main focus is basic math skills dealing with real world mathematics. The functional math skills may include telling time, counting and using money, balancing a checkbook, and understanding measurement. For higher functioning students, math skills will expand to include vocationally oriented skills, such as following a schedule. Students’ progress at their own rate and new skills are taught on an individual basis. 

• Functional Language Arts/ Reading-This course is designed to provide direct instruction in an alternate curriculum in order to improve students functional reading and language arts skills. The main focus is sight word recognition, basic fluency, developing vocabulary, writing mechanics and grammar and reading comprehension. Students’ progress at their own rate and new skills are taught on an individual basis.

•           Functional Science- This course is designed to provide direct instruction in an alternate curriculum in order to focus on science content that is related to health, problem solving and understanding the physical world. It also creates learning experiences within the special education program to help students master basic science skills.