From classroom learning to community field trips with hands-on activities, the MILES Program at Lakewood High School offers a unique learning experience for those in the program. Housed on the first floor of the C wing, this program provides many different learning styles to make education fun.
“The MILES Program here at Lakewood High School is a program that’s designed to serve students with a variety of learning differences in a small group environment, in a modified curriculum where we can best address their academic, social, and other needs as they arise,” said MILES teacher Cory Streets.
Like most other students at LHS, MILES Program students attend the school for a full day of learning. That includes traditional learning in the classroom, elective classes (like pARTners) and job training programs.
“In [these] classroom[s], we have the resources and the staffing to really give kids more low-ratio focus and support where they need it,” Streets said. “We are involved with the Special Olympics. We go on a lot of field trips, we do a lot of fundraisers and we’re always out in the community trying new things.”
The MILES Program is excellent at making learning beneficial and personalized for each and every student who goes through the program. Teachers in the program can adapt lessons to meet different students’ needs, helping them achieve as much success as possible.
“We go off their IEP, which is their individualized education plan that we write every year, and that lists any goals that they have, accommodations, and any modifications that they may need,” said MILES teacher Jess David. “And then we use a different curriculum here. It’s based on the same standards everyone else uses, but they’re called the extended standards.”
It’s all about real-world problems and applications. Students in the MILES Program can apply their learning to real-world examples and experiences to achieve the most growth and success possible.
“When we’re doing math, we’re talking about shopping. When we’re reading, it’s very real-world-tailored. Everything we’re doing in here, they will use at some point,” David said.
As with any program, school, or organization, the MILES Program has its own unique goals to help push students towards the next chapters of their lives.
“The primary goal for the MILES unit is to get our students ready for the next stage of life, after graduation. So we push our students to the highest level of independence that they can achieve,” Streets said. “When they’re ready to go out into the real world, they’ve had a wealth of different experiences and training opportunities. They have a nice resume and the career passport that comes with them.”
Some students even partner with the Westshore Career-Technical District programs.
The MILES Program is also involved with the rest of the high school. Through schoolwide fundraisers and events, as well as collaboration classes, both MILES students and general education students are able to team up and grow together. One example of this is through the pARTners program.
According to art teacher Dayna Hansen, pARTners is a “one-on-one peer partnership where general education students act as a guide and mentor for students with special needs. The students from MILES are the artists, and the general education student is the partner.”
Through the MILES Program, students are not just getting tailored learning for their own individual needs; they learn essential skills and have fun while doing it.
In their general education classes, there is “a lot of hands-on learning, whole class learning using text to speech, using technology [to help with daily tasks]. We run a social skills group on Fridays. And so that is all built into everything we do all day, every day, so we’re really functional,” David said.
Even in electives like pARTners, a fun and relaxing art class, MILES students can learn life skills and the importance of expression.
“Art is for everyone. And this environment has been so rich with kindness and encouragement for everyone,” Hansen said. “Students, both partners and artists, are able to gain strengths in art making, building vocabulary, having open conversations about topics, and just strengthening their overall ability to express [themselves].”
In the end, the MILES Program is filled with enthusiastic students eager to learn. Through this program, they learn important skills, effective learning strategies and go on enriching trips that set them up for success as they move forward after graduation.
