Homework takes on new meaning for some Ray-Pec students

By Don Bradley

Smack dab in the middle of the Raymore-Peculiar School District campus sits a brand-new house.

Two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen island, all new appliances, lush lawn, covered patio out back and a new Makita leaf blower hanging in the garage.

With slight modification, the place looks like it could be in a new subdivision.

But this house sits between the high school and the north end zone of the football field.

What’s it doing there?

Take a peek inside. A teacher and a student are huddled in front of the new Whirlpool washer and dryer.

Teacher: “So, we’ve got liquid detergent and these pods.”

Student: “I like pods.”

Teacher (nodding): “I like pods, too.”

This is Ray-Pec’s new Integrated Learning House.

The idea was born about a year ago when parents gathered in a coffee shop voiced concerns about the district’s special-needs curriculum: What if the school district had a real house to teach real life skills to special-needs students?

Like how to do laundry.

And what if other students helped build the thing.

The Ray-Pec community made it happen. Much of the $340,000 cost came from fund-raising and in-kind donations from architects, contractors and skilled laborers.

And a whole lot of students pitched in like an Amish barn raising.

Heavy equipment students did the earthwork. Engineering students designed the layout. Carpentry students framed the walls, and an HVAC class installed all the heating and cooling units.

Botany students helped with the plantings and landscaping, an interior design class chose the furnishings and education students came up with the lesson plans.

“This is our vision of the special needs world,” said Katie Huff, a teacher and the district’s special education chair.

“And this is how we’ve made it different. As time goes on, the hope is that more students will get involved.”

Aubrie Zumwalt, a senior who serves as a peer student at the house, said there is a curiosity in the school about what goes on in the new house.

“A lot still don’t know,” she said. “What I do is definitely a new experience for me. But it’s been so cool to see this place come to life.”

Huff said other school districts have a building for the same purpose of special needs, but it’s unusual to have a house on campus. As officials say, “the house serves special needs, but engages all learners.”

A day last week, right at noon, a group of students came up the sidewalk to the front door.

This was the Functional Skills Transition Class.

The day started with students meeting in the kitchen with teacher Brandon Dick and peer student Aubrie Zumwalt for daily assignments. The day was a little special because that evening was the open house for the new place.

They wanted to doll the place up.

A few minutes later, one student is making signs for the event, another is cleaning the kitchen and two are straightening up the bedroom.

They work, they talk, they visit, they laugh.

The vibe makes perfect sense to the teacher. Dick is a first-year teacher, so this is all new to him, too.

“They’re not sitting at a desk talking about a theory,” Dick said. “They’re doing things, learning things they’re going to need to know later on.”

They cook. They vacuum. They fold clothes. They take care of the lawn. Dick said he may teach them how to do a small drywall patch and other minor repairs.

Daniel, 16, who goes by T.J., is doing laundry. He liked that the day was special and people were coming.

“This is sort of our place,” he said.

About a hundred people showed up that evening.