Valley High MSD Students Brew Up Success with the Coffee Cart☕
The Valley High Multiple Disabilities (MSD) Program is successfully bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world experience, thanks to an innovative, student-run enterprise: the Coffee Cart. This powerful program is more than just a source for teachers' morning caffeine fix; it’s a vital engine for teaching life skills, professional readiness, and building confidence for the students who run it.
Serving Up Skills and Independence
The Coffee Cart, which runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, is a classroom enterprise that provides students with work-based learning (WBL) opportunities crucial for achieving Post-Secondary Readiness (PSR). As MSD Teacher Rachel Oldham explains, the goal is to foster independence in her students and ensure they are ready to thrive after graduation.
"Our coffee cart is an opportunity for our students to not only work on life skills and work skills, but to work on their social skills as well. They’re getting a lot of the work-based learning through that, but then they're also getting social skills. And we're making money for our classroom," says Mrs. Oldham.
The students are involved in every step of the process:
Preparation: Brewing the coffee and getting the carts ready.
Customer Service: Traveling through the halls, knocking on doors, taking orders, and asking teachers if they need creamer or sugar.
Money Management: Counting the money, making change using the "next dollar" method for easy math, and handling payments.
More Than Just Coffee: The Student Experience
For students like Joscelynn, Callie, and William, the experience of running the Coffee Cart is transformational. It’s an opportunity to apply their learning in a real-world setting and engage with their school community.
Joscelynn highlights the social joy of the job: "I really enjoy the happiness, grateful, and joy," she says. "Coffee, talking to people, and to my, even my friends," are her favorite parts of the work. She also puts her math skills to the test by practicing with money.
Callie describes the positive emotional impact of the work. "This coffee cart makes me calm down and it’s great in the morning," she shares. She loves that it’s the "best and chilling" and makes people happy. Her excitement is clear when she describes the teachers' reaction: "They’re happy about the coffee cart and they can get silly."
William echoes the sentiment that the job is about being active and helpful. He enjoys "walking around" and says it’s an exercise. He feels a sense of respect and connection with the school community. "I like opening the door for people and, you know, helping people out. I like to be a nice person."
For students who might struggle with traditional classroom settings, the cart offers a unique outlet. Callie notes that the structured, positive environment is a safe space: "It's chill. It's nice. Cool. No troubles, no anything."
Community Support and a Bright Future
The success of the Coffee Cart is a true community effort. Local businesses like Heini Brothers, Panera, and Krispy Kreme donate coffee grounds and pastries, keeping the costs low and the quality high. Teachers within the building also contribute creamers and cups, demonstrating incredible school-wide support.
Ultimately, the skills learned—from brewing coffee and customer interaction to practicing money math and showing up on time—are all steps toward a greater goal. As Mrs. Oldham concludes, the core desire is for students to feel prepared and confident in their futures, no matter what they look like.
"If we can teach them skills that are gonna make them just feel good about themselves and just know that they can conquer anything they put their mind to, I think that's the most important thing."
The Valley High MSD students are certainly conquering it, one cup of great coffee at a time!