Life Skills and Autistic support students have been working hard to run their very own coffee stand for teachers called Able Grounds Coffee. Since the stand officially opened in the spring of 2019 with the help of teachers Mrs. Tammy Norris and Ms. Alexis Schagrin, along with speech therapist, Mrs. Erin McGovern, the students have been able to sell coffee, tea, and, occasionally, breakfast treats like donuts to teachers every morning in the 2nd-floor F-wing teachers’ lounge.. 

In order to prepare for the initial opening of the stand, teachers and students consulted local food businesses to seek out management techniques and marketing methods. Through the coffee stand, students are able to learn real life skills that will benefit them in the workplace. 

Mrs. McGovern said, “These students are great and reliable workers, and they have skills that can help businesses be successful. However, it is a population of people that have been overlooked for many, many years and those skills have not been properly appreciated. As people start to realize the great skills that these students have, more and more businesses are recruiting them.” By running the stand and experiencing the inner workings of a business firsthand, students are able to learn accounting, time management, marketing, communication, and other vital business skills. 

Able Grounds Coffee’s success can be attributed in part to certain teachers who are long-time customers. Social studies teacher Mr. Dennis Steinly, a daily customer, said, “I think it is an awesome service that provides wonderful lessons for the students who participate…I have a coffee press and a pour-over coffee maker that I use sometimes, but since Able Grounds has been selling I don’t have to do that in the morning.”