For most of her life, junior Katie Yarrish witnessed her family grapple with the uncertainty of the future for her brother Ross, a fifth year Academic Life Skills (ALS) student at the Lake. Now, Katie says her family finally has the answers that they spent 10 years searching for. Ross will be attending the HCC Community Connection Program this spring where Katie says he will learn more life skills.

Ross is a fish lover, sports enthusiast, older brother, and a frequent amusement park guest. Wilde Lake’s ALS program has helped him to match his passions and interests with future career
pathways. The ALS program has given Ross the attention that he needs to receive the most valuable education possible for him, says Katie.

For Katie, education means more than learning to read and write. It means providing her family with relief and comfort. Katie says the ALS teachers provided her family with relief and comfort while navigating Ross’ future.  When a student enters the ALS program at Wilde Lake, they are met with a team of staff members ready to “meet their needs and prepare them for the real world,” said ALS teacher Ms. Stephanie Tam.

The ALS program is one of Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) Special Education programs.

Wilde Lake’s ALS team is made up of teachers, Ms. Sexton, Mr. Aubin, and Ms. Tam, a team of paraprofessionals, Ms. Coates, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lally, and Ms. LaRose, and a team of student support staff, Ms.Tsega, Ms. Bindu, and Mrs. Kotak. According to HCPSS, ALS students receive education in smaller classrooms where their teachers teach them Math and English. But the program is so much more, says the ALS staff.

K.M. is a first year ALS student who hopes to have a future in helping others. She loves the people at Wilde Lake, her teachers, and her friends, and does her best to help them each day. At home, she helps her parents and grandmother. The ALS program has helped her to connect her love of helping others to real work.

In school, she now works with the children in the Teen Parenting Program. K.M. says that helping with the children in the Teen Parenting Program is one of the best parts of her day. She says she enjoys the many opportunities the ALS program has given her to help people.

“Helping people is in my spirit,” she said.

Assistant Principal Mr. Matthew Sillers saw K.M.’s passion for helping the children in the Teen Parenting Program and is now working to provide her with a job at a local daycare center.

Mr. Sillers says he works to support the ALS program in any way possible as an administrator. “Our special educators have such a positive impact on the kids. We try to help them with whatever needs they have,” he said.

For Mr. Sillers, this often means being a friend and performer.

Mr. Sillers is the best part of ALS student Ramsey Jenkins’ days. Ramsey is a sixth year ALS student who is also an older brother, enthusiastic soccer player, and Disney lover.

School is not only a place for learning Math and English for Ramsey. It is also where Ramsey has built a family and support system over the past 6 years. Every day during lunch, Ramsey can be found at the front of the cafeteria, microphone in hand, singing Disney tunes. He says “Let it Go,” from “Frozen,” is his favorite, but he performs a wide variety of Disney songs. As he performs these songs, Mr. Sillers is always by his side, backing up his vocals.

“[It makes me] happy,” Ramsey said.

When Ramsey returns to the classroom after lunch on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, he prepares for his Career Community Exploration (CCE) job of the day. ALS students are typically enrolled in an English and a Math class taught by ALS teachers, electives, and a CCE class.

In CCE, students visit local job sites four days a week for half a school day to prepare them for their time after Wilde Lake. Ramsey has wrapped silverware at Glory Days, cut papers for teachers at Longfellow Elementary, organized clothes at Goodwill, and stacked shelves at grocery stores. He says he enjoys these real world jobs because “they are fun.”

Katie says it is interesting to hear about all the job sites Ross visits each week. “It is cool to see him find his interests,” she said.

Ross says that his favorite job site is the Columbia Association gym where he cleans the gym equipment. Katie says that these job opportunities help create equity within education because the programs prepare the ALS students for their futures just as well as the general education programs prepare their students.

“ALS students deserve just as great of an education,” Katie said. “By giving them these opportunities, learning becomes more equitable. Being in the ALS program and getting to learn life skills and going to work every day is going to give them the help that is needed to be successful. ”

For Ms. Tam, this equity includes putting her students first. “Putting the kids first should always be the most important thing. I treat them like they are my own,” said Ms. Tam. “I know that they are not all the same, but I still need to support and help them.”

Within the classroom, Ms. Tam appeals to her student’s specific interests. On Fridays, Ramsey picks a Disney movie to watch.

Mr. Matt Aubin says that making the ALS students feel confident is key when putting them first. As his students work on their reading assignments, he cheers them on with a smile on his face. When a student answers his question correctly, the sound of Mr. Aubin’s voice cheering “again baby here we go!” fills the hallway.

To make students feel confident, Special Education teachers are trained to adjust certain scenarios for each student, according to Ms. Tam. She says compassion is necessary in Special Education.As Ms. Tam says, “We will prepare them on how to react in the real world. The kids are not cookie cutters.”

This story was originally published on The Paw Print on April 9, 2024.