Students gain life skills, job experience
Kent Luetzen
Students gain work experience at the Polson Food Pantry and the pantry gains help getting things done.
Kent Luetzen
Students from the Polson School District’s Life Skills class pose for a photo together.
Kent Luetzen
ohn Bakerstreet helps restock shelves at Polson Food Pantry.
Kent Luetzen
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POLSON – Finding good job experience to help support a well-rounded resume can be tough for students to spot; however, the Polson High School Special Education students are getting hands-on experience to help build their future.
The students leave school every Thursday and are placed in jobs around Polson. For example, Ana Michel, John Bakerstreet and Rochele Farnsworth were stocking shelves, preparing meals and flattening boxes at the Polson Food Pantry.
“This is helping them when they have to write out job applications,” Paraprofessional Beth Christian said. “They will have something to put under job experience and life skills when they graduate.”
Linda Kittle, a volunteer at the food pantry, helps guide the students in the right direction while they are working.
“It is a huge help,” Kittle said. “We get a lot done when they come in and they are willing to do anything.”
Kittle is happy to see Polson School District encouraging students to get job experience, but she also enjoys the relationship between the Food Pantry and area schools.
“It is a big cycle,” Kittle said. “We help them get experience and they are helping us get stuff done.”
Other businesses involved in this program are Big Sky Strength and Fitness, Workout Express, New Life Christian Center, and Lakeview Baptist Church. Life Skills teacher Kris Kelly is helping kids establish a relationship with their community.
“This program allows the community to see that these kids have worth,” Kelly said. “We want to get employers the opportunity to work one-on-one with these students and build a relationship.”
In class, the kids get the opportunity to continually add to their resume throughout the four years of high school. The benefits of this program are immense, according to Kelly.
“The community gains employees,” Kelly said. “These employers get invested and it allows the community to realize that these kids can hold a job. It also shows that there are people in the community that will go to bat for these kids.”
Besides getting help, Kittle likes to make it fun for the students.
“We have a good time,” Kittle said. “I love their good humor. I get swept away in their happy mood.”
