By Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Case in Point Magazine and the Case Management Resource Guide

I don’t have children, and so I don’t have the opportunity to see firsthand the innovative and creative programs that educational professionals are using to prepare kids for life. Last week I had a glimpse into two programs that made an impression on me that I thought I would share in this week’s Case In Point Weekly.

I was invited to a luncheon to represent our Club (Quota International of Plantation, Florida, Inc.) to thank us for our contribution to the 2010 Academic Bowl Team for South Plantation High School. The Academic Bowl is a program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing High School students started in 1977 by Gallaudet University.

The goal of Academic Bowl is to promote academic competition among school teams. It includes quiz tournaments (think Jeopardy) in which teams of high school students compete against each other in local, regional and national events. At each regional Academic Bowl, teams compete against each other on a wide variety of subjects. The first and second place winners from each of the five regions compete in the National Academic Bowl at Gallaudet University in late April.

This event is a great opportunity for the students to learn how to work for a common goal in a competitive environment. Dr. Keith D. Muller, a family counselor for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program for South Plantation High School, spearheads the program and recruits students each year to participate. He and his fellow teachers work closely with the team to prepare them for the competition by educating them on a variety of topics that they may face in the competition.

The team from South Plantation High School

Questions are drawn from a variety of categories such as history and government; language and literature; science and technology; geography; mathematics; the arts; deaf studies; current events; and popular culture, leisure, and sports. The kids spend a great deal of their after hours preparing for the event and have high hopes of bringing home a medal for their school.

The competition helps the kids build confidence, self-esteem and learn the importance of teamwork. As we know, these are traits they will use in many ways in year to come. 

The luncheon was held in the Knight’s Café, a student-run restaurant that is part of the school. The management, marketing and meal preparation is all done by students and is linked to formal programs that are part of the school’s curriculum. 

The restaurant is for the faculty of South Plantation High School and is a place where invited guests from the community, local businesses and others who have business with the school can enjoy a meal in an inviting atmosphere. Dr. David Basile, Principal of South Plantation High School, explained to me that the idea was spurred by the students and has been a huge success in both generating revenue for the school and, more important, for the experience it has given each of the students who choose to participate in the program.

Building life skills is essential for success. I think these two programs are excellent examples of what one school is doing to help students prepare for the life.

On behalf of the editorial team who produce Case In Point Weekly and the readers, I would like to wish the 2010 team from South Plantation High School the best of luck in this year’s Academic Bowl!

Have a great week!