Special-ed teachers showcase student-run 'Coffee Cart' at board meeting

Princeton High School special-education teachers Sabrina Loeschreiter and Grace Dearden told the school board about the Coffee Cart, a student-run enterprise that operates during a career-math class and gives students hands-on practice with job skills and social communication.

"The students are responsible for organizing everything, making all of the coffee, and delivering it out to staff," Loeschreiter said, describing how students wash hands, prepare drinks, label them with teacher names and practice calm hallway behavior. Dearden added that staff members help with speech and device use: "Amy Smith, our speech language pathologist up at the high school, has started doing push in with us... which has really given us the opportunity to utilize those devices with the students."

The teachers said the cart is funded through the school store so it can offer a range of drink options without charging students cash at this time. The presenters said their near-term goal is to break even so the program can stay available to students and that they hope eventually to add shopping and money-skills practice. "We do plan on kind of refiguring career math... we'll have paychecks per se to earn things at the end of the week," one presenter said.

Board members praised the program at the meeting, calling it a strong example of classroom-based transition and communication instruction. No formal board action was required or taken on the presentation.

The board heard the presentation during its informational agenda and moved on to citizen comments after a brief question period.