Our Curriculum

This course will introduce the student to basic banking and budgeting vocabulary, along with how to write checks, complete deposit slips, use ATM/debit cards, and record transactions in a register. We will also introduce how to reconcile a bank statement. This course introduces simple budgeting concepts such as necessities vs. luxuries and fixed vs. variable expenses. Students will learn from scenarios in which they receive a paycheck and bills they must pay.

Students learn necessary skills for independently living in a home. They are taught how to care for both the inside and outside of a household. On the inside of the home students will learn basic household maintenance such as changing lightbulbs, unclogging drains, and keeping areas clean. On the outside of the home students will learn skills such as how to maintain a lawn and gardens, and how to contact skilled trades workers if the need arises. 

Through hands-on activities and lessons, students will strengthen their cooking and kitchen safety skills. Students will create a weekly recipe that will give them the opportunity to prep a kitchen, follow a recipe, sample their creation, and properly clean the kitchen when finished. Students will also create items to sell to students and staff twice a week in our classroom cafe. Throughout the semester, students will practice measuring, sanitation, proper and safe use of kitchen tools and appliances, and reading labels and expiration dates.

Students enrolled in an employment course will gain an array of knowledge that will allow them to be able to pursue a future job with confidence. They will receive constant practice filling out job applications, being able to recognize common interview questions and answer them appropriately, leadership training, communication, resume building, and understanding the importance of adhering to proper job expectations while employed. Students will focus on becoming more independent upon entering the workforce. This course encourages students to participate in group projects, role-play with their classmates, and take a hands-on approach with technology in order to search for jobs on the internet.

This course is a simulation of adult independent living. The course prepares students for living on their own. It consists of one hundred activities that students complete independently, at their own pace, or with limited assistance. Students are exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary, real-world math, and decision-making scenarios. Students will have a checking account and a savings account that they will reconcile. Students will use the Westwood Employment Agency Booklet to find employment. There are ten different job opportunities from which to choose. Students will use the Westwood Apartment Guide in the same manner to select an apartment. This program also uses books and catalogs, such as Garcia’s Grocery Store, Great Deals Discount Store, and the Westwood Mall Booklet to complete shopping activities.

Personal awareness is integrated into all classes related to the unit themes that are part of instruction. It allows for students to gain the knowledge of many different types of relationships and allows students to better understand themselves as well as others. Personal awareness instruction provides students with the skills they need to be able to understand what a healthy relationship is.

Positive living class provides students with the opportunity to develop positive emotional well-being. The curriculum helps students strengthen character, manage stress, resolve conflict, and improve social skills to enhance the development of positive relationships with others.

The retail class provides students with the knowledge and skills they will need to operate and work in a store. Students will work together to run and maintain Macomb Academy’s school store. Each student has a specific job role that they will be responsible for holding for the week, and then they rotate jobs each week. During the semester, students will be able to strengthen their money skills by practicing counting money, learning how to collect money for purchases, as well as being able to give the correct amount of change back from a purchase. Students will also learn how to operate a cash register to allow them real-life skills of being a cashier. This class will allow our students to gain the confidence they need to obtain a job in retail.

Show me the money is a course that helps our students better understand basic money concepts. At Macomb Academy, we strive to help them understand the value of money, coin identification, how to calculate change back from a purchase, how to dollar up, and most importantly, how to count money. The class focuses on these areas of need on a daily basis. In this class, students participate in games, lessons, activities, worksheet practice, and they even lead the class in teaching a lesson after they have mastered it. There is no homework, but extra worksheets are always available to students for additional practice.

Macomb Academy incorporates social media into the communications and positive living courses. Social media engages students in the world around them through the use of technology. The focus is on the understanding, use of, and communication involved in social media.

Stress management is a part of everyday life; throughout the courses at Macomb Academy, students learn to examine, identify, and understand situations and things that cause them stress. They also explore, identify, and learn techniques they can use to reduce stress.

This class focuses on developing social skills needed to keep a job as well as developing on-task behaviors, asking for assistance when needed, teamwork, and working at a productive pace. Students will use a time clock and time card to punch in to simulate employment. Students typically work on social skills curriculum on Tuesdays and Thursdays and complete task boxes to target other skills on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Skills may vary based on individual class needs.

This class focuses on developing reading for understanding. We use decoding skills for defining unknown verbiage. Students are encouraged to read books, articles, job descriptions, and for enjoyment. Students are encouraged to reword passages using their own understanding of the writing given. 

Students use a driver's training manual to learn the rules and laws of a well-informed driver. They take unit tests corresponding to the tests given at the Secretary of State. Upon completion of the class, if the family chooses, the students may be more successful at completing the test on their own at the Secretary of State. (Road tests are NOT provided by Macomb Academy).

Students are taught the skills and abilities necessary to integrate and be a more active part of their community. They learn local laws and information regarding topics such as getting around their community, partaking in local events, eating at restaurants, and how to share appropriate personal information in the community.