Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Patricia Beaumont, a special education teacher at South Side Middle School, was living in Long Beach when Hurricane Sandy devastated the coastal community in October 2012.
“I was swimming in 4 feet of water,” Beaumont recalled. “When the water went down, there were fish and seashells in my house. We lost everything.” Many residents were without power for 50 days. “There were no streetlights, no electricity,” she said.
During that challenging time, Beaumont witnessed her neighbors come together to share resources and host community meals, including “guerrilla barbecues” and a fundraiser by Swingbellys Barbecue at the Long Beach Recreation Center.
These acts of solidarity inspired her to create a meaningful event for her students, many of whom have developmental disabilities and require structure and routine in their day-to-day lives, which the storm had disrupted.
“To think of Thanksgiving in a happy moment was impossible for some families,” she said. But Beaumont was determined to offer her students and their families something to celebrate.
She organized a “friendship feast,” a collaboration between her Life Skills class and the Long Beach School District, which runs a similar program for students with developmental disabilities.
The idea is to unite students from both districts for a Thanksgiving meal while teaching valuable skills along the way. Beaumont took her students to Trader Joe’s to shop for ingredients, teaching budgeting and planning.
“We prepared and served it,” Beaumont said. “It was a traditional feast with everything.”
The inaugural feast served 70 people and included activities like bingo, dancing, and karaoke to encourage students to interact. It was such a success that the friendship feast became an annual tradition. The following year, it expanded to include 90 people.
Beaumont credited her former teaching assistant, Ali Wallace, who is now a full-time instructor at South Side Middle School, for her help in making the event such a success each year.
The Life Skills program focuses on helping students gain independence by combining academic learning with practical, real-world experiences.
“They’re learning real skills,” Beaumont said. “We have to practice it. Experience it. It’s three-dimensional learning. We have to learn through action-based activities.”
In preparation for the feast, students practice cooking, including peeling potatoes, using sharp tools with verbal prompts, and setting timers for meals.
“We may not be able to tell time on analog clocks, but we’re pretty good with tech,” Beaumont added.
Beyond cooking, students also learn to navigate public transportation, using buses like the N15 and N16 with the support of teachers.
“It’s about getting us into the community,” she said. “They’re learning life skills and self-preservation skills.”
The program strengthened ties between South Side Middle School and Long Beach High School, fostering collaboration through events like buddy walks and inclusive pool days.
The Life Skills program also provides students with opportunities to learn about business, through entrepreneurial endeavors, such as pop-up shops where students sell coffee to staff members, practicing money exchanges and customer interaction.
“It’s been amazing for the kids,” Beaumont said. “It’s been great for the teachers as well. It’s about broadening their friendship circle.”
Reflecting on the origins of the feast, Beaumont sees it as a testament to resilience and community.
“Out of something horrible came something incredible,” she said.
The impact on students has been profound. During their most recent feast, students shared what they were thankful for, which included food, new friends and of course, Taylor Swift.
What began as a way to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy has become a cherished tradition at the middle school, transforming lives and strengthening communities.
For Beaumont, the feast is more than just a meal — it’s a celebration of resilience, gratitude, and possibility.
