Over the course of any given week, 1,800 students will generate a tremendous amount of trash. But thanks to the help of three students at Scotland High School, a large amount of the garbage generated at the school is ending up in the recycling bin, not the waste bin.
Occupational Course of Study students Christopher McLean, Brandi Tew and Danielle German spend four days a week going around the entire campus picking up recyclable items from each classroom at the school to be picked up by the City of Laurinburg’s recycling efforts.
“It is a good feeling to help recycle so all this stuff doesn’t end up in the landfill,” said McLean.
Tew and German find that picking up the recycling is a good way to help their school.
“We like helping keep our school clean and helping out in anyway we can,” said the girls, almost in unison.
“We have created a good system to get it all collected,” said Tew.
In addition to helping out the school and the planet, teacher Verna Grant sees many positive impacts for the individual students.
“This is a great way for these students to learn job skills that they will need upon graduation,” said Grant, who accompanies the students on their rounds many days. “They have great attendance, are on time and really focus on their task. All of these are skills that employers look for when making decisions about who to hire and retain.”
The Occupational Course of Study is one of four courses of study a student with disabilities may complete to graduate with a high school diploma in North Carolina. OCS is intended to meet the needs of a small group of students with disabilities who require a greatly modified curriculum that focuses on post-school employment and independent living.
“These students do a fantastic job with our recycling and are a key part of our green efforts at Scotland High School,” said SHS assistant principal Kesha Williams. “It really has been a school-wide effort, but these three make it all work.”
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