When High 5 Heights opens its doors on Wednesday, November 29, a next level of opportunity and dreams will begin for adult students with special needs in District 218.
The public may attend the event, which starts at 10 a.m. and features ribbon cutting, coffee and doughnuts, and an introduction to this unique site. No district features a retail store to provide the experiences for skill development, employment, personal and social growth, and marketing of goods.
Located at 12213 S. Harlem Avenue in Palos Heights, H5H will operate two adjacent facilities.
The first will provide job training in heat transfer press, laser engraving, embroidery, Cricut, graphic design, and other transferable work skills; the second, High 5 Heights, will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and most Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and provide retail store training opportunities such as customer service, communication, and quality control.
H5H will sell goods including custom clothing, seasonal décor, greeting cards, wood working, crochet, paintings and drawings, and much more, all created by ATP students and graduates.
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The store also will carry goods created by adults with special needs who sell at a regional and national level. Half of the products will also be purchased from wholesale vendors and sold at H5H.
H5H expands on High 5 Apparel, the business operated the last 10 years out of the Adult Transition Program in Oak Lawn where students create products that are sold within their campus or at local craft fairs and pop-up shops.
ATP serves students ages 18 - 21 with special needs from Eisenhower, Richards, and Shepard high schools.
ATP students will order, inventory, SKU, display and participate in the sale of all products giving them training and experience in all aspects of retail sales and marketing.
ATP vocational coordinator Kerry McNicholas will manage the H5H store along with other District 218 staff members. Two graduates of ATP are the first employees hired to work at the facility.
“This is truly a one-of-a-kind experience for our students with special needs and all of District 218, none of which could have happened without the encouragement and support of Superintendent Dr. Josh Barron and the Board of Education. I feel truly blessed,” said Associate Superintendent Dr. Sue Feeney.
Last year Director of Special Education Kerri Piscitelli and Feeney set out to find a place to expand the ATP training program. With the encouragement of Dr. Barron, they drove District 218 neighborhoods to locate an appropriate property.
When they called the realtor to ask about the Harlem Avenue location, they discovered she already possessed a district connection as a parent of Shepard students, and herself a family business owner in Palos Heights. Their conversations would move the idea to reality.
With federal funding earmarked for special education, Piscitelli and Feeney began to create the reality for their students. Soliciting help from the District 218 Foundation, community architects, JP Architect, LLC, and District 218 O & M staff, the newly leased spaces were renovated.
The genesis of H5H dates to the arrival of McNicholas in District 218 over a decade ago.
While working for Chicago Public Schools she managed a similar program like High 5 Apparel.
With the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship curriculum as a guide, McNicholas and her colleagues developed a training program for retail entrepreneurship within District 218.
Students voted on the name “High 5 Apparel” 10 years ago. Recently, they voted to add “Heights” to connote location as well as reaching new job training heights. They also voted to add the slogan, “H5H: Our products guarantee a high five!”
H5H is a next level retail opportunity offering a truly unique environment. The immersive aspects of working in a real-world retail environment will transform job training for District 218 young adults with special needs.
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