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Schools

Gardening Takes Root at High School

Life skills class is about more than just a job.

On a gloomy winter's day, the life skills classroom at is full of sunny smiles and the delicious aroma of fresh stir-fry.

How fresh is it? Well, the kids who made this dish grew the bean sprouts and the basil themselves and plucked them from containers right in the classroom. 

The beans are sprouted in the classroom, but the basil, along with a few other herbs and vegetables, are grown in greenhouses at and at . The kids in the life skills class work in the greenhouses and efficiently grow the plants from seed to supper.

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They also supply food for more than just their own table.

The basil they grow is delivered weekly to stores in Gibsonia and Cranberry, and, in the summer when the herb is plentiful, to T-Bones Marketplace and Soergel Orchards in Wexford, and in Gibsonia. The chefs at St. Barnabas use them as well.

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Proceeds from selling the fresh basil support the life skills program.

As extensive as the planting operation is, it's just one of the many opportunities the students in the life skills class have to brush up on their vocational skills. Some also work various jobs in the Cranberry Giant Eagle, at Kings Family Restaurant,  T-Bones, Bakerstown Animal Hospital, Wagner's Market, the Lighthouse Foundation in Butler, and at St. Barnabas.

It's a dizzying schedule and one that life skills teacher Mark Schweers orchestrates with energy, enthusiasm and a seemingly endless supply of patience. 

Each morning, they meet at school and gear up for a busy day, piling into the van to go to one of their job sites. They then meet back at school for lunch, math and reading, then head back out for another job.

"Some of our kids may not be able to compete in the classroom in math and other academic subjects, but they do in these real-world situations," says Schweers.

They more than compete, they excel, and can tell a visitor exactly what the schedule is, what needs to be done and why it needs to be done.

Student Matt Resh, 19, reels off his weekly schedule as if he has a calendar in his head, explaining what he does at each job site and which of his jobs he likes best. He's also an expert on the Steelers and wears his Polamalu jersey with undisguised pride.

While Resh plants basil and runs through the Steelers roster past and present, fellow students John Simpson, Pat Weakland and Bryan Thee plant seeds, water existing plants and do the other kinds of chores necessary around a working greenhouse.

In addition to basil, their mainstay plant, Schweers is experimenting with growing tomatoes, spinach, lettuce and a few other plants.

"I'd like to diversify our winter crop, but we need to experiment to see what does well in a greenhouse environment in this weather," says Schweers.

When the students are not going out to work in their various jobs, they're busy in the classroom. They make items that are classroom- or garden-related, work on the computers, or get one-on-one instruction from the other life skills staff, teachers Jamie Kuriger and Ben Rings, paraeducator Sherry Esser, and students from the Best Buddies program, a group of student volunteers who help out in the special needs programs.

This day, they're working on a beautiful tiled topper for Kuriger's bookshelf, a gift from the heart for a beloved teacher. The warmth, love and respect they share are obvious in this busy, noisy classroom, a happy oasis where learning is fun and doesn't even seem like it's all just part of the job.

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