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Classroom program 'Coffee Crew' showcased as inclusion and life-skills effort
Summary
A teacher demonstrated the Coffee Crew student program, showing how ordering, preparation and sales activities teach life, social and communication skills and allow nonverbal or physically limited students to participate using adapted tools; funding ties include a STEP grant and student co-op activities.
At the Columbia CUSD 4 board meeting, teacher Miss Balmer presented the Coffee Crew program, which engages students in practical life skills by having them take and fill orders, work on punch-card systems, and practice communication with staff and peers.
Miss Balmer described how the program is intentionally inclusive: nonverbal students can use picture-based order forms and switch-activated devices to operate a coffee maker; other students help print labels, package muffins and track orders. The program also ties into the district's STEP grant funding and high-school co-op activities, creating continuity for students from elementary into secondary-level vocational experiences. She said the money generated by the program largely funds itself and that the activity builds motor, social, language and vocational skills.
Why it matters: Classroom programs that combine skill-building with student-led enterprise can support special-education goals and give students practical experience that aligns with later vocational pathways. The board praised the program and thanked the presenter.
Follow-up: Administration noted similar student-run activities at the middle and high schools and highlighted ongoing efforts to expand student involvement in landscaping and other applied learning projects. No board action was required.
