Calhoun store preps students for the retail world
Shoppers crowded into The Stable for the grand opening of Merrick’s newest clothing, jewelry and phone accessories shop last Thursday.
With its merchandise hung neatly on racks and aligned perfectly on shelves, the boutique resembled most any shop you’d find in the community, except in two respects. One, it’s located in a quiet corner of Calhoun High in North Merrick, removed from everyday school life but close enough that students can be heard shuffling from classroom to classroom in between periods. And two, it’s run by special-education students.
Among the dignitaries at last week’s grand opening were Bellmore-Merrick Central District Superintendent Dr. Henry Kiernan, County Legislator David Denenberg, and Ira Reiter and Susan Helsinger of the Merrick Chamber of Commerce.
The Stable, created by Calhoun administrators and special-education teachers with help from parents and community volunteers, is intended to help prepare Life Skills students for work in retail after graduation, selling merchandise and possibly running a shop. It was made possible largely by community donations.
“It’s really cool,” said Antonio D’Aquaro, 17, of Bellmore, a student in the program. To learn retail sales, D’Aquaro added, “You used to have to go to BOCES. Now we get to do it at our own school.”
The Stable, said D’Aquaro, who was working the jewelry counter with classmate Ashley Florscher, 20, of Massapequa Park, “helps you experience what it would be like to be in public.”
“I think it’s awesome,” Florscher said. “There’s a store in a school.”
Students selected The Stable’s product line. The shop is in a newly renovated suite that was once a large, plain-looking classroom where students took tests. On one side of the suite is the new store, and on the other is a mirrored dance studio, with wrestling mats covering the floor, where the cheerleading and kickline squads practice their routines. The Stable is painted blue and white, Calhoun’s school colors, and has a giant blue C in the tile floor — and security cameras looking down from corner posts.
