SAN ANTONIO — Melissa McDonald read about a high school with a coffee cart program. She thought the 7 to 10-year-old kids in her class could do the same thing.
“They’re smart. They’re funny. They’re really interested and curious in learning,” McDonald said.
She pitched the coffee cart idea to Hardy Oak Elementary School principal Lola Folkes. Of course, the principal had questions, but she greenlit the idea.
“This has been the best thing that has happened to Hardy Oak,” Folkes said.
On Fridays only, teachers place their order slips outside classroom doors, the students pick the orders up, fill the requests and deliver the product.
The young baristas are all alternative learning environment students. Special education is not their obstacle. Instead, it’s their opportunity.
“They’re learning jobs. They’re learning to follow a schedule and go step-by-step,” McDonald said.
She said the coffee cart allows the students to apply math, learn to graph their order results and take on science with the recipes.
Brennen, Alaska, Camelia, and Madison. They are four of the five students who are the Hardy Oak Coffee Cart Crew. McDonald said the kids rotate jobs weekly.
“It’s really a great opportunity for them to practice skills,” She said. “Academic skills, life skills, social skills and a really cool for them to interact with our campus and build connections around campus.”
For 50 cents teachers can purchase coffee, tea, and bottled water. Customers also get a free coffee on their birthday. The reward program extends past that.
“My students can deliver some joy on a Friday morning to some teachers,” McDonald said. “And that’s more important than the actual coffee.”
Have a story about a kid doing great things in South Texas? Send Marvin an email: Greatkids@kens5.com #KENS5GreatKids