A bakery called Rising Skills recently opened their doors in the halls of Brewer High School. Mrs. Schlotterbeck’s Life Skills class have been baking loaves of bread to sell to teachers around the school. Mrs. Laster suggested it over the summer. The idea solidified over the summer until it became a full-fledged plan of action.
Baker admiring his work
Before the students could even begin baking bread, they had to get certified to work with food. Once that was done, they began watching videos that showed every step of the process in detail. Then, Mrs. Schlotterbeck demonstrated the steps. Finally, the students began the steps with supervision. Every student plays a part in the production, doing whatever they enjoy. “The kids who are really creative made logo designs, and the class voted on their favorite. Others are on the delivery team. Each group has a chance to be a part of the process. I want them all involved somewhere, so they all learn something within their skill set,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
“We’re not actually a bakery, we’re a classroom that’s learning skills,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
It’s not just the recipients of the loaves that enjoy the process. The students look forward to their weekly ‘baking day.’
“I think they really like the way the room smells. They all enjoy different things, though, like kneading the dough, mixing the ingredients, or even writing thank you notes,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
They are also learning lots of skills that could help them in adulthood.
“Baking can teach them practical skills to help them live independently,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
However, only a certain amount of bread is baked in a week. It takes the first four periods of the day to make just two loaves of bread, and they have many other things to work on for school.
Baker preparing the mixture to bake
“We limit it to just twelve, since we still have to do class. We’re not actually a bakery, we’re a classroom that teaches learning skills,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
Right now, the bread is only available for order to teachers.
“I wanted to make sure we weren’t overwhelming ourselves,” Mrs. Schlotterbeck said.
Regardless of whether the bread becomes available to the wider community, Rising Skills benefits everyone involved. Brewer is lucky to have this hands-on program.