Program Mission and Goal
The mission of the Make Sense Shop is to provide a unique educational experience to current and post-graduate high school students with special needs. We are focused and committed on the program goal to help students with special needs transition successfully from the school to work environment by offering a multi-dimensional workplace experience for students. At the Make Sense Shop, students experience the work place setting and interact, and learn within a functioning store, production area and restaurant in a safe and welcoming educational setting.  The success of the Make Sense Shop program depends on the hard work of our students and the cooperation of parents, teachers, community members and the businesses of our local community. By offering an opportunity to learn employment skills and life skills, the Make Sense Shop fosters critical developmental learning for the benefit of all students and the surrounding communities with whom we cooperate. 

About the Make Sense Shop
The Make Sense Shop is located in downtown Pulaski and offers a number of services to the local and surrounding communities. Patrons of our business can enjoy shopping in our gift shop along with having a tasty lunch from our cafe. Our building houses a fully functional commercial kitchen, and a variety of crafts and gifts to purchase, some of which are student produced and finished. Our shop employs students from the Pulaski, Sandy Creek, APW, and Camden school districts in this enriching educational, workplace environment. 

Internships
In addition to the daily work that is done to in the Make Sense Shop, our program offers students the opportunity to participate in local internships at area businesses. Job coaches work with students to further help develop the life and employment skills needed to make a successful transition from school to work. Through these internships, students gain valuable work experience and social skills. To foster a successful internship placement, care is taken to match the student’s abilities with the work opportunity.

The Make Sense Shop is fortunate to have been embraced by our surrounding community businesses to provide internship opportunities for our students. Internship placements provide opportunities for students to work and learn and to gain experience working as kitchen staff, in service,, in maintenance, and in stores and businesses. The combined efforts of the internship program and surrounding community businesses provide the best possible chance for our students to find success after graduation and post high school.