CRESTVIEW — Richbourg E.S.E. School's life skills classroom refrigerator is packed with more than 60 dozen cookies the classes’ students have made.
So far.
“We’ve been at it for two weeks,” life skills teacher Shirley Godbold said.
Jordan Chance and Megan Simpson, high school students in Richbourg’s intermediate culinary class, now know to thoroughly blend dry ingredients for cookies before scooping them into the mixer.
“If you dump the whole bowl with the baking soda, baking powder and flour in, it won’t rise even,” Jordan said.
As Godbold supervised Jordan at one of the class’s two professional mixers — the other, on a lower table, is for elementary and middle school students, and students in wheelchairs — teacher Sandra Lukert guided Megan through measuring and blending dry ingredients.
Megan used her metal spatula to even off each cup of flour to assure she poured just the right amount into the mixing bowl. Meanwhile, Jordan got the butter, eggs, vanilla and sugar blending in the mixer.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Culinary students alternate between making cookies one month and breads — date-nut, applesauce, pumpkin and banana bread — the next. Between 36 and 40 loaves are produced each bread-making week.
“Pumpkin is the favorite. It sells out like that,” Godbold said, snapping her fingers.
Cookie and bread sales finance supplies for the culinary program, and prove an easy fundraiser, Godbold said. But making the program's supply side pay for itself is not its purpose.
“The whole goal is for the kids to become somewhat self-sufficient,” she said.
Earlier this year, the kids made macaroni-and-cheese and Hamburger Helper from boxed mixes. Then they learned how much tastier and healthier the same dishes were when made from scratch, Godbold said.
“There’s a difference, and they tasted it right away,” she said.
CLEANLINESS FIRST
Each class begins with students donning their aprons and chef’s hats, washing their hands and putting on plastic gloves.
“And if they touch their face or hair, guess what? They’re done!” Godbold said. “Some of our kids work at Uncle Bill’s and Subway. These are things they have to know to get a job in a real restaurant.”
In addition to learning how to cook and bake, the students learn how to maintain a clean, germ-free kitchen.
“Don’t think we haven’t had the occasional sneeze into the bowl and it all has to go into the garbage,” Godbold said. “We stress cleanliness.”
At the end of each class, hats and aprons go into the washing machine.
“They do the laundry, too,” Godbold said, adding washing clothes is another life skill learned at Richbourg.
CHRISTMAS ENTERPRISE
Godbold and Lukert’s students face fewer challenges than their classmates in Karen Lusk and Jeri Tobias’ room, who have more severe disabilities.
But those kids’ limitations don’t deter them from making Christmas gift tags out of donated greeting cards and fabric wreaths for all occasions.
As Lusk arranged a card on the die cutter bed, Sydnee Myers pulled the handle, punching out a gift tag with the shape of a Christmas light bulb.
“We work on Christmas gift tags year round to be ready for the holidays,” Lusk said, indicating a box filled with packs of 20 tags each.
For Christmas, Klayton DeGroat, guided by Tobias, used a screwdriver to punch cones of 3-inch-square red, green and plaid felt into a wreath form. Other wreaths made in the class have college sports team motifs.
‘THEY CAN BE TRAINED’
Godbold said teaching her students basic life skills, and the kids’ satisfaction from learning and completing a task, would have been unthinkable in the past.
“We do a lot of neat things that years ago people would say these kids can never do,” Godbold said. “That’s not the case. They can be trained. It’s a lot of repetition, but they get it.”
For Thanksgiving, the students learned the correct way to set a table. Godbold and Lukert sent home a place setting diagram over Thanksgiving break with a note asking families to let the kids help set the feast day table.
“You wouldn’t believe how many notes I received from parents saying how proud they were of the way their table had been set,” Godbold said.
“B.M.W.: These kids know that,” Godbold said of the “bread, meal and water glass” place setting order. “Not many kids do.”
Richbourg E.S.E. School life skills students produce a variety of cookies and breads as part of their career and independence training. Cookies cost $3 per dozen, bread costs $4.50 per loaf. The from-scratch treats can be ordered at the school’s front desk. A cookbook of recipes the students have mastered is $1.
Gift tags produced by the school’s disabled high schoolers are for sale in the lobby for $1 for a pack of 20 tags. Festive wreaths run $25 to $30, depending on their complexity.
Visit the school, 500 Alabama St., adjacent to Northwood Arts and Science Academy, to order cookies and bread or purchase gift tags or wreaths.
WANT TO BUY SOME TREATS?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Richbourg School's cookie factory teaches life skills (PHOTOS, VIDEO)