COACH kids learn vocations at Sacred Heart

LYNN – As the holidays approach there are many food and clothing drives taking place across the city, but the effort at Lynn Classical’s Freshman Academy is unique because of who is organizing and carrying out the effort.The Freshman Academy on North Common Street is home to the city’s high school COACH program for severely autistic students. Although there are only three students enrolled in the program, they have succeeded in collecting more than 750 cans of food since Oct. 27, and expect even more donations before Monday’s deadline.The cans will be donated to the Tree of Life Food Pantry at Sacred Heart Church, where the three students will also begin volunteering for the holiday season.The food drive has been an entirely internal operation at the Freshman Academy, as students were encouraged to bring in canned food to homeroom every day. The COACH program students collect and count the donations every Friday, and have promised a pizza party for the classroom that brings in the most in donations.”We have brought in over 750 cans, the kids have really done an amazing job with this,” said COACH teacher Erin Coburn. “I think the kids are really enjoying the competition.”The collection effort is just the beginning of the charity work for the COACH students, who will begin volunteering at the food pantry in December.The partnership is a way for the food pantry to receive help around the holiday season and a way for the COACH students to get out into a real-world environment and learn some vocational skills.”It is really a great way for them to learn direction and vocational skills, because they are at high school age now but they stay with the program until they are 22,” said Coburn. “The food pantry welcomed them in on Fridays where they will build boxes, stock shelves and help with the food.”Coburn said the MBTA has even donated $150 in Charlie Cards to the program so the students can take the bus from school to the food pantry and learn how to use public transportation.For the program, in its second year, it is another step in educating the autistic children for life in the real world while helping out the community at the same time.”Ms. Coburn and this program continue to amaze me,” said Freshman Academy Principal Judith Taylor. “She is everything you could want in a teacher for these children, she is compassionate and patient and the students respond accordingly.”