By Laura Hayes — [email protected]
A soon-to-open store will invite shoppers to stock up on Concord school spirit gear — and give student workers with disabilities a chance to hone their vocational skills.
Concord PossAbilities, located at 199 Sudbury Road, will be run mostly by members of the Concord-Carlisle High School Launch program.
“I feel that will actually open the door for our people,” Launch special education teacher Radka Grein said. “When they leave, people actually know them, and they might hire them.”
Grein, transition specialist Mary Desmond, and director of special services Angel Charles learned about similar programs, including one in Shrewsbury that Charles said offered students “an authentic, public-facing, vocational experience.”
“Radka, Mary, and I, since the first week that I came on, have been talking about this as a dream: Could something like this ever happen?” Charles said.
Concord had classroom space in the Ripley Administration Building, but Grein said Launch has struggled to find vocational sites for students — and to help them secure jobs after they finish high school.
Through the founding of PossAbilities, Grein said, the program “can actually show everybody that our kids have so much to offer.”
A ‘labor of love’
Over Charles’ first summer with the district, staff started to look at commercial real estate. The places they visited either needed a lot of work or were too big, said Charles.
She had driven past the Sudbury Road storefront and spotted a “for rent” sign. The location — near Crosby’s Marketplace and the Concord MBTA stop, and within walking distance to CCHS — worked.
After peeking through its windows, Charles said, she felt the space could be perfect.
Charles called PossAbilities, which received support from the School Committee, a “pure labor of love.” The students chose the colors of the walls, built the shelves, and decided where the products would go.
“It’s a little bare right now. We need to fill it up with more stuff, but we’ll get there,” said Charles.
The store is still waiting for a sign, and students and staff still await training. Speaking with the Bridge on March 4, Charles estimated PossAbilities would open in a matter of weeks, at most.
Student Ana Armocida said she enjoys creating the items for sale. In a room in the store, Armocida and others used a special machine to put lettering and Concord school logos on different items. “It’s just fun,” she said.
Fellow student Dylan Zelonis built the shelves. “I’m a maintenance person, so I like building the things,” Zelonis said. “I’m also the tech person, so I like fixing the things.”
Life after high school
When students turn 14, the district begins the process of helping them prepare for the post-school world. That includes learning life skills and gaining vocational and community experience.
The Pathways program serves students ages 14 to 18 who have “significant and complex disabilities,” including “significant autism” and intellectual, neurological, or communication disabilities, according to its website.
These students then transition to Launch, which is for those between 18 and 22 who are done with high school but still need additional services.
“I know SEPAC [Special Education Parent Advisory Council] is thrilled and think it’s a wonderful opportunity for the students and fabulous for the whole community,” said SEPAC publicity chair Krys Streeter-Tarlow.
PossAbilities is open to all CCHS students — whether or not they have special needs. Working at the store is a way to earn required community service hours.
It’s a safe place for the students to build skills, said Grein. But, she added, staff have high expectations.
“We can get so many more transition experiences and exposure within this space rather than having to go to all of these other different places to get bits and pieces of it,” Charles said.
