Three students from Oxford and one from Pontiac busy themselves at the Banbury Cross Therapeutic Equestrian Center as they pull off old pieces of wood from the center’s dilapidated feed room.
They then inspect the pieces and remove any remaining nails. The decrepit pieces of wood are then placed into a wheelbarrow and taken out to the trash.
The plan is to tear down the feed room and partition wall and build two new rooms: a feed room (to store food for the horses) and a tack room (to store bridles and other equipment used for riding horses).
As they work, Oakland Technical Campus instructional technician Mike Greer teaches them how to pull the boards apart, how to use the power tools and emphasizes how safety must be observed at all times.
The three Oxford students are junior Andrew Pierce along with seniors Joshua Pender and Ryan Binkley. They worked alongside senior Edgar Barajas from Pontiac.
There’s always something to do in a place like Banbury, whether it’s taking care of the grounds, fixing fences or rebuilding something.
While the students gained hands-on experience in construction, they also helped make improvements to Banbury’s facilities.
The work at the center is part of a partnership between Laurie Lavins, Oxford High School special education teacher, and Jessica Moore, program director at Banbury.
Lavins, who trains horses when not at the school, had some of her horses housed at Banbury and approached the center about allowing her special-needs students to do work there in the O-Tech program on a two-day assignment.
Pontiac-based O-Tech gives special-education students a chance to work in the community. Besides construction, it also offers job experience in business management, culinary arts, cosmetology and other areas.
‘We’re always looking for volunteers for projects around the farm,? Moore said. ‘We thought this was a great idea. We’re really looking forward to the chance to continue working with the school in the future and hope for a long-term relationship.?
Moore described the four students as ‘extremely polite? and is working with Lavins to set up a future date for the students to return to the center to help get the new rooms built.
Besides construction and working with power tools, the students at O-Tech also learn about plumbing, masonry and electricity. The idea is to expose them to the various sides of construction to see what they might have an aptitude for.
Greer, who along with James Sweeney teaches construction skills trades at O-Tech, said among the future building projects at Banbury will be installing brackets on the wall to use for storing saddles in the tack room.
Lavins said the students really started to get into the project on the second day and enjoyed it. She hopes this work assignment opens the doors for her students to gain work experience elsewhere in the community.
‘The best education is to have real-world applications, where you can go out and see how what you’re doing benefits you, and that there’s a benefit to what you’re doing in the classroom,? Lavins explained. ‘These are the types of opportunities we’re looking for the kids, to go out in community and work and be part of community and have job experience.?
Mary Pierce, Andrew’s mother, appreciates what the program’s done for her son and the others.
‘He loves the program and has learned a lot from it,? she said. ‘More special education kids need to go to this program…Mr. Sweeney is wonderful, and he goes the extra mile with the kids by making sure they understand before he moves on.?
For more information on this program or to offer OHS special-education students work-experience opportunities, contact Lavins at 248-969-1875, ext. 5163 or e-mail her at lavinl01@oxford.k12.mi.us.