NEWBURGH, Ind. (WEHT) – A cup of coffee is a daily routine for many of us, but for some students at Newburgh Elementary School, a cup of coffee is helping build skills for life.
“So the students in our functional academics class as a part of the programming, we teach them things in the classroom, the life skills they need to know, job-related skills. But there’s that component that they need to go into the community to have that real life experience,” says Assistant Principal Kris Warner.
When the pandemic prevented the students from gaining those experiences outside of the classroom, Warner and his staff had to think of something new. This led to the start of the Solid Grounds Coffee Shop.
With guidance from fellow student helpers and teachers, students in the functional academics program fulfill coffee orders by organizing cups and lids, attaching labels, filling the coffee and delivering the orders to teachers. There is even a time card station where students can clock in and out to earn “classroom money” for their classroom economy.
Students get to learn teamwork skills, in addition to face to face interactions on deliveries and even a little math when it comes to calculating the correct change due. Bayze, a student in the Solid Grounds program, says his favorite part is getting the cups and lids together and delivering the coffee.
“When we started the coffee shop, I figured out how cool it was,” says Bayze.
Madison, a Solid Grounds student helper, says she gets just as much out of the program as the participants.
“Just getting to see them happy and proud and stuff, it just warms my heart,” says Madison.
Warner adds, “There are parts of my job that are more work, then there are parts of my job that fill my bucket.”
Warner says the program would not be possible without the school and community support, including the Newburgh Starbucks location. He says Starbucks sent a staff member to help organize the layout of the coffee shop, and has continued to donate coffee and syrups to the school.