With the addition of a t-shirt heat press, the NASH Tiger Shop had a successful year — but next year promises to be even better.

The shop recently won a $5000 grant from the Autism Speaks Foundation. With this grant, Mr. Connors said that the shop intends to purchase a digital vinyl printer and cutter in order to expand their offerings to the the school community.

With the vinyl, students and staff at NASH will be able to create a variety of projects such as banners, signs,  and even stickers. In addition, the acquisition will allow for media to be sent directly to the printer, which can then cut out the shapes in the design. 

“It just gives you more options to do,” Connors said.

At football games and sporting tailgates, it’s not uncommon to see fatheads of fellow peers scattered in the crowd. Through the Tiger Shop’s grant, students would have easier access to the equipment necessary for creating such fatheads. Aside from offering kids the ability to make fatheads of their friends, this printer offers more color options along with better quality graphics and photos for students to create more striking, professional-looking projects.

“If you have smaller jobs, you benefit from the opportunity,” Connors said. “It requires less hands-on, less supervision by an adult or teacher.”

Connors and Ms. Beck oversee the shop in conjunction with several Special Education aides.  Students in the department perform the tasks associated with each job request.

Connors added that one of the goals with the installment of the new equipment at NASH is to hopefully expand and reach into the middle schools in the district. A general goal is that hopefully, the middle schools’ own versions of the shop will be able to sell the items produced in the NASH print shop.