Greenfield-Central Community Schools teachers told the school board that a revived life-and-career readiness course at the junior high is giving students hands-on lessons in sewing, nutrition, basic home repairs and budgeting.

At the board’s meeting, Mrs. Coles, a junior high teacher at Greenfield-Central Community Schools, described the class as a modernized version of traditional home economics that the district brought back after about a year-long hiatus. “One of the quotes up there on the screen really summarizes how I feel about my job this year — I have the best job in this entire district,” Coles said, citing students’ enthusiasm for practical skills such as basic stitches and cooking from scratch.

The course covers a range of everyday skills, district staff said, including sewing and clothing repair, nutrition and meal planning, budgeting and basic tools and home maintenance. Teachers said lessons intentionally link academic standards to real-world practice: students calculate recipe nutrition and grocery costs, break down the price of family meals and prepare multiple recipes as part of a unit. “We did about two weeks working on nutrition and thinking about what we eat and how we’re fueling our body,” Coles said.

Students who spoke during the spotlight described the class as useful and confidence-building. One student said the course offers “a taste of independence” and practical skills for everyday life, including communicating with others and preparing simple meals. Another student said the class taught them how to make pancakes from scratch and that stitching was harder than expected but rewarding.

Teachers described classroom practices that include a pre-survey at the start of each semester and a post-survey to measure growth and adapt units within the term. Coles said the class has flexibility to change topics based on student needs and that instructors coordinate with other courses to reinforce budgeting and financial-literacy content.

Looking ahead, staff said they hope to expand experiential elements, including outdoor greenhouses to support a farm-to-table unit and collaboration with the district preschool so students can create items for younger children. Coles said the class plans an upcoming “adulting week” to practice tasks such as clearing drains, using a level and other basic household skills.

Board members thanked the teachers and students for the presentation; the spotlight concluded with applause. No formal board action was taken on the program during the meeting.

The board’s agenda lists related district planning and construction topics elsewhere in the meeting, including facility updates and a community information night about reconfiguration plans on Nov. 4.