some pictures of my special ed class bakery making NYC/NJ style pies

[waltertore]

  Here are some pictures from today of my special education students in operation making 15 pizzas/serving to the art club.  They came in to eat 10 pies from us as a thank you for making the sign that will go above the sliding metal window.  My students are learning entry level job skills via this licensed bakery that is my classroom and located at Newark HS in Newark OH.  The one girl is just about ready to put me out of work.  She does every aspect but toss, which she is learning rapidly.  The pizzas are baked in a couple blodgett 1000 ovens.  I call them my own design heavily influenced by my NJ/NYC area upbringing.  Walter-wearing my lucky star tavern hat-my hometown favorite pizzeria.



https://www.facebook.com/NewarkCitySchools/photos_stream

[Chicago Bob]

Everthing is looking good there Walter...including the pizza! 
Keep up the great work you are doing man. 
Bob

[pizzaneer]

My mom was a special ed teacher in elementary school for 10 years before she became a minister.  All I can say is that you are an awesome guy for putting your heart into this.  I know that your students will go on to good things, with the confidence earned from learning.  They, and YOU, deserve every bit of praise you get.

Pizza looks great!  I hope you got some good media writeups, or are planning some publicity events.  The more public awareness, the better.

[waltertore]

thanks guys!  Today I made about 10 doughs and let my future tosser go to it.  She did incredible.  This is a girl that not many had any expectations for except to get in trouble.  She is now able to prepare a complete pie, load 6, 16" pies into the oven and take them out.   She is most likely one of a only a handful of pizza tossers in central Ohio working in a commercial establishment.  That is funny because she is labeled developmentally delayed yet is over qualified for the chain pizza places that are staffed with "normal" intellegence folks!  Here was one of her doughs from today. She put them in the oven without any toppings and we brushed them with melted butter and cinnamon/sugar.  I called them NYC cinnamon pies.   Walter

[Chicago Bob]

Tell Paige if she is ever in NC she has a job.    You guys are doing great things there Walter...I am very happy for you. Continued success my friend...
Bob

[norma427]

Walter,

I enjoy reading your posts, seeing your pictures and what you are doing with your students.  Congrats to them and you for helping students that might not have otherwise done so well.  You are a great mentor and I am sure you students benefit from you and all you teach them.  Your students seem to be progressing so beautifully. 

Norma

[Chicago Bob]

Walter,

I enjoy reading your posts, seeing your pictures and what you are doing with your students.  Congrats to them and you for helping students that might not have otherwise done so well.  You are a great mentor and I am sure you students benefit from you and all you teach them.  Your students seem to be progressing so beautifully. 

Norma

I would just like to add a little statement to Norma's eloquent post Walter.

I was born to a blind mother and if it weren't for people like you who so selflessly give of their time and their heart/soul....well, my mom would probably not have turned out to be the happy and, herself, inspiring person that she became. Mom (Philly ) has been gone for some time time now but her "you can accomplish anything" spirit lives on in the many people she touched. Just as , I know, these things will also come about through you....
Keep on keep'in on brother, thanks.
Bob

[waltertore]

Tell Paige if she is ever in NC she has a job.    You guys are doing great things there Walter...I am very happy for you. Continued success my friend...
Bob

Chicago Bob:I will tell her that.  It will be good for her self confidence.  Thanks for sharing the story of your mother.  I made it quite big in the music world and then found special education.  I feel lucky to get paid to work with such special people.  This bakery/pizzeria is probably the only such operation in the country.  I post about it with hopes it will inspire others to think outside the box and give to the community of people that were born without the givens we  have.  Keeping it Pizza- our pies are winning over some hardcore garbage pizza eaters!   The pizza and food in general in this part of the country is bad.  I was raised in the NYC area  Italian food culture.  My mother is from Italy and everything was made from scratch and her family was in the pizza/bakery fields.   I thought that level of quality was normal.  I am able to keep the price competetive with Little Ceasars and such because I have no rent, mortgage, or salaries to pay.  Thus we can use top ingredients for our entire line of baked goods. I have basic recipes but most of it done by feel and look.  That is the way I was taught.  My students are very sensory based so they adapt to this easier than most would ever think.    Walter

[waltertore]

Walter,

I enjoy reading your posts, seeing your pictures and what you are doing with your students.  Congrats to them and you for helping students that might not have otherwise done so well.  You are a great mentor and I am sure you students benefit from you and all you teach them.  Your students seem to be progressing so beautifully. 

Norma

Thanks Norma!  I enjoy reading your posts as well.  You are passionate.  That is what life is about.  Walter

[waltertore]

from today.  we made 35 pies for a luncheon.  I tried to post some pictures but they keep coming out so small I give up.   Walter

[Chicago Bob]

This is what I use and it works great Walter.  http://www.picresize.com/edit
On the first page you select the pic from your file and hit the big yellow "continue" arrow. Now, on the next page....scroll down to the bottom right and you will see a white "kilobytes" box. Type in 128 (our forums size limit) and that's it....golden!  
Bob

[pizzaneer]

Bob means this link:   http://www.picresize.com/

Just tried it, worked great, very simple.

Also, there is a batch resize function which will be very handy for you.

[Chicago Bob]

There's my 'lil pizza taste tester! 
That is a really nice photo Brian...post it over in the new "what's your camera" thread....
Is the other handsome gent your Dad?
Bob

[pizzaneer]

Pic is from a bike ride a month or so ago.  That's Darwin and my next door neighbor, Al.  The weather was so perfect that day we rode for hours, on back roads and forest trails.  Al's lived here for 40 years, and is a great tour guide.  He knows all the Civil War homesites scattered in the woods, who owns what and what's being done to preserve our area from development.  He's the father of 7 boys and grandfather of something like 30 kids... looking at his backyard during family get-togethers is amazing. 
 
Sorry to get off-topic, Walter.  The picresize website will do the job for you, no question!
 

[Chicago Bob]

Thanks Brian...Als's a cool dude.
But that photo has an almost "painting" like quality to it...it is very interesting.

[pizzaneer]

Thanks Brian...Als's a cool dude.
But that photo has an almost "painting" like quality to it...it is very interesting.

Some of my other pics, Bob: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,21375.0.html

[waltertore]

thanks for sharing that info!  Cool pictures pizzanner!  Walter

[waltertore]

Here a photo test.  It is one of my students with cognitive delays making a large pie.  She is now able to shape, toss, top, put in and out of ovens/manage up to 6 pies at one time in an oven.  Walter

It worked- thanks guys!