Coffee Cart Gives Mehlville Students Life Skills

Every morning at Washington Middle School, you can hear the cart come rolling down the halls and you can smell the freshly brewed coffee.  The Eagle’s Nest Coffee Cart is a welcome sight for teachers who need a quick jolt of caffeine or a chilled can of soda. 

But the Coffee Cart is much more than a beverage and snack service.  The students who operate the cart are part of the Special School District classrooms at Washington Middle School.   Carla Coats is an SSD teacher who coordinates the Coffee Cart activities.  She explains, “We pair a child who is a bit more social with a child who is more structured.  The two who are working that day have to wash their hands so we are very clean.  They have to stock the cart with sodas.  They need to put the coffee on.  They need to make sure that we have all the
creams and that the cart is clean.”

Each of the preplanned steps gives the students an important lesson on following directions, making correct change and providing good customer service.  Those skills will help get these middle school children prepare for jobs during or after high school.   And working on the coffee carts gives special education students a chance to spend time with the general school population.  “This has allowed them to get in there and break down that barrier by saying, ‘Hi, how can I help you?’
when they meet those teachers and so they are becoming more relaxed,” said
Coats. 

All the money raised through the sale of coffee and snacks is used to fund other SSD community programs, such as helping students with their social skills by taking them out to the grocery store or a movie theatre.  Coats says, “Every parent’s want and goal is to have their children live independently or with assistance.  That’s what we are doing here.  We are providing that structure.”