Kate Warburton stood at a kitchen island in Concord High School’s newest classroom and stirred a pot of thick, melting chocolate.
On the other side of the island, which was several inches lower than the first side, student Jack Smith, who uses a wheelchair, helped to ready the plastic molds on the countertop.
Special education teacher Kari Zwick led the activity, making chocolate pops in fun Halloween shapes, while a group of about eight students in the special education program for students between the ages of 18 and 22 at Concord High – followed her instructions.
The Transition program has a brand new room this year, after the space was fully renovated over the summer. The Access room, which contains a kitchen, washing machine and dryer as well as tables and chairs, is set up to teach students with disabilities to master “soft skills” such as cooking, doing laundry and making a grocery lists in preparation for life after Concord High. Friday’s chocolate pop activity was part of a fall lesson where the students made candy products, figuring out how much they cost to make and how much money they would need to sell the candy for in order to make a profit.
John Fabrizio, the assistant superintendent of student services, decided that the Access room needed to be updated shortly after he joined the district in 2021. The equipment was old, the furniture worn and the floors uneven, Fabrizio said, and the room wasn’t designed in an ergonomic way for the disabled students who navigate it daily.
“It didn’t flow well,” Fabrizio explained. “The kitchen was kind of tucked away in the right corner, older cabinets. A lot of modifications were brought in like plastic bins and things to store places.”
The ensuing project was a complete, floor-to-ceiling renovation of the special education suite which included both the Access Room for Transition students and another classroom for special education students ages 14 to 17 next door. The work began in May and finished in August.
The work was funded by $258,000 in federal COVID-19 relief dollars, specifically a American Rescue Plan grant earmarked for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act projects.
Now, the two rooms are set up specifically with disabled students in mind, including many sensory-friendly adaptions. The bright green, yellow and brown color that had been on the walls previously has been changed to soft grays and blues, and dimmable lighting was installed throughout.
“It was really important that they had a calming, nurturing environment,” Fabrizio said.
In one corner of the Access room is a full kitchen with an induction stove and two ovens – one lower and one higher – a sink that has space under it for wheelchair users, a microwave, toaster and stand mixer where students can practice their cooking skills. In the other corner, behind a half-wall constructed with soundproofing, is a washing machine, a dryer and a table where students practice laundering clothing, including CHS t-shirts. Nearby, there is a cluster of calming, oval sensory chairs that permit students to rock back and forth. The regular classroom chairs all have flexible backs and sturdy legs which permit users to lean back without tipping over.
In the special education classroom next door, more soundproof half-walls create cubicles where students can study quietly and there is an L-shaped couch to sit and socialize or do work. There are touchscreen monitors in both rooms where students do interactive activities. All the tables and storage cabinets are on wheels, which allows the furniture arrangement to be changed for different activities.
Fabrizio and facilities director Matt Cashman worked with an occupational therapist, two disabled teachers and the high school special education director to plan the rooms, and also gathered input from students. One day a company brought in an array of chairs for the students to test, before ultimately selecting the oval ones.
“What would life look like if these adults had to live independently? What skills would they need to build in?” Fabrizio said. “We’ve kind of thought backwards about how does someone function and live and then how do we build this into a program that allows them to learn this with trained instructors on-site so they can then go off and work in stores, Home Depot, restaurants and all these things.”
Concord High has a transition coordinator who connects students with extended learning opportunities in the community to prepare them for entering the workforce after high school.
Zwick said that the renovations have changed the way she teaches, since students can now move around the space on their own more safely, and main gathering areas like the kitchen island are accessible and the right height for everyone. She said she’s noticed the difference in the students too.
“We wanted the space to be functional with more cupboard storage to not have as much visual clutter, so kids can find things and be more independent,” Zwick said. “That’s totally what happened. I had no idea that like an environmental design can have such an impact on behaviors.”