News - Bark and Biscuit Program Helps Students Develop Life Skills While Making Pup Treats
Published on
Through a creative and hands-on learning-based program, a group of Avon Lake High School students are gaining valuable career and life skills while making sweet treats for furry friends. The Bark and Biscuit program provides students with the opportunity to work on functional life and vocational skills by making and delivering homemade dog biscuits to ALHS and district office staff. Four students currently participate in the program and are assisted by Michelle Vargo, Speech-Language Pathologist, Vickie Tomlin, Intervention Specialist, and a dedicated team of paraprofessionals. On average, the students make between 100-150 dog biscuits each month, and since the program was launched in April 2023, students have baked nearly 2,000 of the delicious canine treats!
From start to finish, students complete a variety of jobs based on their individual interests and skills. Ms. Tomlin works with students on important skills such as reading and comprehending the steps of a recipe, measuring skills which involve identifying and using the correct measuring cup, kitchen and food safety skills, and money skills, such as ensuring that the order is paid for and giving change when necessary. Each month features a unique biscuit flavor which incorporates fresh, natural ingredients such as oats, various mashed fruits, peanut butter, unsweetened apple sauce, molasses, and more. Students also work on labeling the packaging with the Bark and Biscuit logo, checking orders, placing the requested amount of dog biscuits into each bag, and delivering the dog biscuits to customers based on their delivery preferences.
As a speech-language pathologist, Mrs. Vargo helps students to develop a variety of important communication skills, including building language skills necessary for following directions, sequencing steps in order to fully complete a task, understanding job-specific vocabulary words, and problem-solving skills. Social skills are also embedded into the program, including greeting customers and closing conversations, determining if a customer is busy or not, and conversation skills with various audiences. Students also develop collaboration skills by working together as a team to complete the various tasks to ensure that orders are completed in a timely manner.
The Bark and Biscuit program is a wonderful example of interdisciplinary collaboration at Avon Lake High School which helps students to connect with the greater school community while preparing them for successful futures.
