Wheeler’s Northwest Village School Provides Practical Prep for Work, Life

Maybe it’s a field trip to a food industry conference. Or time spent in the onsite automotive garage. Or a regular shift at the school store. Whatever the setting, students at Wheeler’s Northwest Village School (NVS) have plenty of opportunities to acquire skills and experience that prepare them for the world of work through comprehensive prevocational programs. 

“Our programs, delivered at four sites within our school, engage students as early as 13 years old and provide a broad range of experiences in hospitality, food management, retail, business, automotive services, and more,” said Doug Jackson, Sixth Year, vice president and principal, Northwest Village School. “Our goals are to foster critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as an appreciation of the value of hard work as a building block for life.”  

Each year, more than 50 middle and high school students are involved in the school's prevocational programs, and 10-15 students participate in training in the local community through positions at Gnazzo’s grocery store, the Barnes Nature Center, Connecticut Clearinghouse, and more.

Culinary Program
The NVS culinary site is a strong cornerstone of the school's prevocational program. It comprises a restaurant-style kitchen and cafeteria, as well as "to-go" and catering components. It's a place where students learn how to cook for others and acquire both front- and back-of-the-house skills from a highly experienced kitchen manager, formerly a restaurant owner. 

Working side-by-side in a fully equipped kitchen, students prepare daily lunches for the entire school, as well as for special occasions such as the Annual Parent Open House and Thanksgiving Feasts. Youth are involved in all aspects of this process, from inventory management, to meal planning, customer service, catering for special events, clean-up, and more.

"The practical learning that takes place here can be readily applied to the real world," said Jackson, adding that last year, two NVS graduates went on to pursue a career in culinary arts as part of their post-secondary education.

Activities of Daily Learning (ADL) 
This unique site, provides students with space for practicing independent living skills, and prepares students for their roles in family and work life and explores careers in family and consumer sciences. In the ADL room, kids learn how to cook for themselves in a cozy, home-like kitchen as well as research their nutritional habits. They also learn how to launder and sew their clothes and explore family living, parenting, household decision making, and an individual’s roles and responsibilities within the family and community. 

Here, they are introduced to hospitality services, including food services, tourism, and recreation, and they learn about aspects of economics, organizing and managing a small business, providing or creating a product or service, which aligns with the NVS school store, an adjacent prevocational site. 

School Store 
The NVS school store is a setting where students practice interpersonal skills and relationship-building through customer service. They learn about how to assess and replenish inventory, and to price and sell their products. Very often, the delicious food created at the NVS culinary site is sold in the school store, providing participants will an immediate sense and practical application of their efforts. The store enhances the schoolwide positive behavioral supports system as students earn vouchers for store goodies.

Automotive Garage Program
The NVS automotive program helps students to learn about careers in the automotive industry in a near-real-world garage setting. A certified technician helps students to learn basic safety techniques, as well as independent living skills that they can use on their own cars. Opportunities for advanced learning in the automotive field are also offered. Youth work in small groups with the instructor. A special education teacher and paraprofessionals support this learning process.

“Our kids love the hands-on experiences and apply the learning from the classroom to their own lives,” said Jackson. “The best part about it is that they find relevance in their work, which enables them to find employment outside of our school.”

More about our automotive program in this video reel.