Flower Hill Artists Partner with HHS Life Skills Class

Huntington High School’s Career Exploration 2 class strives to teach job skills through meaningful work experiences within the community. This fall, some students began spending time at Flower Hill Primary in teacher Nicholas J. Matarazzo’s art class.

The students have been involved in the district’s work-based learning program for several years and have expressed an interest in working with children. The teenagers are accompanied by high school special education teacher Marybeth Stahl and teacher aide Kimberly Barias to support the students and coach them through situations as they arise.

Flower Hill Principal Cindy Siegel and her staff have been extremely welcoming and the high school students are very comfortable at the school. This level of comfort gives them the opportunity to develop essential skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, problem solving and organization.

The time at Flower Hill is split between organizational tasks and working with teacher Caroline Coffey's first grade class. For the first half of the shift, the students utilize a checklist to complete various tasks to keep the art supplies organized and ready to go for Mr. Matarazzo’s students. The checklist and the repetition of the tasks each week help increase students’ level of independence.

Once the first grade class arrives, the high school students work directly with them. They are seated at the students’ tables and help with getting supplies, following directions, completing tasks and talking about the assignments.

Each week, one of the high school students is Mr. Matarazzo’s “Teacher Helper” and they work right alongside him. This collaboration has been beneficial for all involved.

“It has been a pleasure having them in my classroom,” Mr. Matarazzo said. “It’s something that not only they look forward to, but something that I look forward to as well as my students. The kids walk into class and are so excited to see their high school friends at the table waiting for them”