Checking Out a New Student-Led Coffee Program

You’re probably familiar with Starbucks, but have you heard of Ashbucks? At Ashburn Community Elementary School, students in the school’s cluster program are learning life and career skills by operating their own coffee shop. They are learning how to take orders, make coffee and tea, and deliver these items to teachers. Earnings from Ashbucks help students participate in Special Olympics events. 

Ms. Nicole Ceaser, a CPS speech language pathologist, is one of the staff members who has helped get Ashbucks off the ground. We spoke with her about how this program is a step forward for students with disabilities at Ashburn. Learn more below. 

What was the inspiration behind this new initiative? 

We know that cluster students often have opportunities like this when they begin high school, so we thought it would be a great idea to empower them at a younger age. It was important to me to make this program completely run by the students because I think when you give them opportunities, they will take advantage of them and do them well. 

How do you collaborate with other staff members to make this program successful? 

I work closely with our social worker, occupational therapist, and special education teachers. Our skill sets come together to make sure that our students have what they need to be successful. For example, some of our students are non-readers, so we’ve made sure that the order form has pictures on it so they can read it. One area we’re currently working on with them is learning how money works and how to give proper change. 

What has been the student response to the program? 

They absolutely love it. We started the program last school year, and, when students came back this year, they started asking about the coffee shop right away. This program is for seventh- and eighth-grade students. One of our students who was a seventh-grader last year has become a real superstar. He can do all the stations and works well with money, and he’s starting to help other students as well. This is a student who was not talking as much before, but he is communicating more and has a lot to feel empowered and proud about. It is truly amazing. 

We have another student who is a new seventh-grader, and she was so excited to get involved. She was used to us going into the classrooms to give the teachers the order form, so, when she got more involved, she was like: “They hired us!” 

What advice would you give to other schools that would like to set up a similar program? 

I think we sometimes underestimate our students, especially our special education students. With a program like this, I recommend starting out small but giving yourself a lot of room to grow. We started off with just coffee and tea, and this year we are doing so much more. The students are basically running the program on their own. We support where we can, but our biggest help is having confidence in our students and knowing that they can do it. 

What is your message to your students for the rest of the school year? 

I am so incredibly proud of everything that they’re doing. I love that it’s building confidence in them and know that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to.