Coffee Shop: Lancer Coffee Bistro

Julie Paradise, Transition Specialist, and Colleen Broadwater, Resource Teacher

• $7,000 — Provide for supplies and equipment to open and operate a coffee shop in Room 417.
• The entire SME community–staff, student body plus 15 Special Education students would be impacted in grades 9-12.
• The business would facilitate hands on learning activities that will prepare these students for post high school independent living. These activities would include: consumer math, banking, job readiness, hygiene/body basics, reading, written language, social skills – interaction with peers and community members.

Special education students and staff at SME High School will develop and maintain a small business within the school building that will serve the entire SME community. Room 417 will be transformed into a specialty beverage retailer offering a range of products to be determined by a school wide survey. Running a small business within the school will provide essential daily instruction in crucial life skills for students with physical and cognitive disabilities. The business would facilitate hands on learning activities that will prepare these students for post high school independent living. These activities would include: consumer math, banking, job readiness, hygiene/body basics, reading, written language, social skills – interaction with peers and community members.

In addition, many students from SME will be encouraged to contribute to the success of the business:

• Cadet teachers will work as job coaches mentoring special education students during working hours
• Students in economics classes will be invited to create business plans and marketing strategies as well as assisting in the daily operations of the business
• FACS students will be asked to suggest design and décor options during the renovation stage of the business space
• Art and graphic arts classes will be involved in creating logos for uniforms, paper products and advertising as well as painting and decorating the walls and cabinets in the new room. The walls of the new room could be used to display artwork created at SME.
• Music students may perform during hours of operation
• The Library will provide reading material and will showcase new items

The business would operate during the hours of 6:45 and 10:00 AM Monday through Thursday. The business will be closed on Friday so as not to compete with the already established "Cappuccino Friday" held in the SME library. Students would be allowed to purchase items until 7:35 AM. Faculty and staff will have access to the room for the entire school day. The new room will be used as a community based learning classroom for the first four class periods. Students working on a functional curriculum will be engaged in real life math, science, social studies and language arts activities. For the remainder of the day the room will provide an area for daily special education department meetings, collaborative teacher planning sessions, IEP meetings, college visits, and parent meetings.

A detailed time line for the creation of the business has been provided, culminating in the coffee shop opening December 2006.

Grant awarded February 2006