By: Cody Mroczka, Daily Southtown
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The students of Bremen High School District 228’s EXCEL extended school year program capped off a successful year with a field trip they won’t soon forget.
On June 27, D228 Special Education teacher Meredith Madden took her classroom to Bass Pro Shop in Bolingbrook to apply the skills and knowledge they learned over the four-week specialized program for high school students with neurodevelopmental and learning disorders. The theme of this summer’s coursework was all about camping, so the mega outdoors store was the perfect location to provide an educational scavenger hunt where students worked together in small groups to complete vocabulary challenges.
“D228’s EXCEL program is for students who would benefit from a functional, hands-on, life skills curriculum,” Madden explained. “The extended school year is an opportunity for students to benefit from continued services for part of the summer and what we try to do is get out in the community as much as possible.”
For student Andrew Suett, who has never been camping before, the best part of the field trip was getting to inspect and sit in the various boats.
“That was my favorite part,” he said. “I liked it because I’ve never really been camping. It was a good experience for me.”
Classmate Maddie Crosetto said she was no stranger to the outdoors and had gone away to summer camp in the past. Her mom, Joni, said the family treks up to their cabin in Canada every summer and Bass Pro Shop is a must stop.
“That’s our favorite store we always go to,” Joni Crosetto said.
Madden said the staff at Bass Pro Shop were more than happy to assist in setting up the hunt which had a total of eight clues. Employees were also available to answer questions from students who were having a hard time navigating the giant space with two floors.
“I think the cool part about ending the year at Bass Pro Shop is that we took the four weeks of everything we were learning about camping from vocab to the essentials you need to pack to where you would want to go and what supplies you would need,” Madden said. “We’re a functioning life skills program so we work on appropriate social interactions and having trips allows us to practice that in a real life scenario.”
For parent Jenifer Fazy, whose daughter Christance Russell is a student in Madden’s class, the EXCEL program and extended school year means a lot to their family.
“It’s awesome because a lot of schools don’t do this,” Fazy said. “A lot of schools do not have this program. Honestly, I have not moved because of this program. I want her to be able to graduate in EXCEL and everything. This is one of the best programs I’ve ever seen. The teachers are just phenomenal, so nice and so supportive.”
Hearing those words caused Madden to tear up.
“It’s a team collaborative effort because without the students, without the families involvement, without the whole entire staff working together, we wouldn’t be able to be successful and do fun things where we’re all learning,” she said.