Your latte has a cause at this local coffee shop. Meet the baristas of the Cool Kids Cafe

Goodman Middle School’s built-in coffee shop, the “Cool Kids’ Cafe,” offers daily drinks and baked goods for sale by students in Peninsula School District’s Options program.

The Options program teaches job and life skills to students in grades 6-8. It is designed to give students with disabilities the skills they will need to be employed in the future so that they can live successfully on their own, teacher Bryn Miller told The Gateway.

The cafe just entered its third year in business with 23 students who spend second period fully running the cafe. Each student has a food handler card through the Washington State Department of Health.

The cafe is located in the Options classroom at Goodman, open to the staff and parents who are volunteering in the school. Students at Goodman are given the choice of hot chocolate or apple cider when they have been nominated for excellent work by their teachers.

Skills in the cafe go beyond making coffee.

“We are learning real life skills and building our confidence as we prepare for life after school,” Goodman educator and cafe manager Kari Hyatt told The Gateway.

How the Cool Kids Cafe works

By being a part of the cafe, the students are learning how to make food and coffee, create resumes, write cover letters and do interviews, Hyatt said. They’re also learning customer service, teamwork, advertising, technology, recipes, math skills, how to handle money and budget, social skills, communication, and safety, Hyatt said.

Before students are able to rotate through the different roles in the cafe, they go through a full application process.

“After submitting an application and recommendation letters, they will complete an over-the-phone interview,” Hyatt said.

Students then work in a buddy system to complete their training. Upperclassmen show the new students how the cafe runs.

“I like being a barista,” Mackenzie White told The Gateway. “Off of our menu our most popular drink is a latte. I make it a lot.”

White, an eighth grader at Goodman, is a barista trainer. This is White’s second year at the cafe.

“Here at the Cool Kids Cafe, our motto is: ‘Because we can do hard things,’” paraeducator Elaine Krejci told The Gateway.

Each step of taking an order, completing the transaction, making a drink or baked good, and delivering the item to the customer is fully done by the students.

“This one starts every morning by coming in and opening the cafe for us,” Hyatt said about eighth grade student Hans Cagabcab, as he delivered a drink Thursday. “He gets a pot of coffee started, counts and justifies the cash register.”

Profits go back into the cafe to purchase cooking materials and ingredients they use everyday. The cafe also receives support from the community.

Harbor Greens donates dough for the students to bake their in-house pretzels and bagels, two of their most popular items. Panera Bread has also come into the classroom to show students best practices when baking, Krejci said.

“We’re baking blueberry muffins today. While we bake, students are learning about measurements, proper directions,” Miller said.

Hyatt and Miller both previously worked at Hawkins Middle School in the North Mason School District with a similar program, before moving to the Peninsula School District.

Cool Kids Cafe swag

Students who are not on shift spend class time working on employment skills, or on the design crew creating merchandise.

The cafe sells t-shirts and sweatshirts to staff, students, parents and the public. Customers can order them online by visiting http://wa-peninsula.intouchreceipting.com

The cafe occasionally hosts events throughout the school year. Last year they provided lunch for staff, Krejci said.

Last school year, students at the Cool Kids Cafe also made deliveries next door to teachers at Harbor Heights Elementary. This is something they hope to start again in the coming weeks, once students are fully trained.

Some students already know what they want to do next, after finishing school.

“We also take the time to discuss our dreams and what steps we need to take to achieve them,” Hyatt said. “We have some kids who want to stay in the food and beverage industry and others who want to be engineers.”

The skills learned in the cafe can help them get their first job, Krejci said.

“Everyone here is such an important part of making the cafe run everyday. We’re always looking for additional adult help for anyone that wants to come work at the coolest place with the best kids,” Hyatt said.

The cafe looks for volunteers who have experience with the design machine, Cricut, as well as making coffee and working with students.

“We are really needing people who are interested in getting a job as a paraprofessional,” Miller told The Gateway.

Those interested can check the Peninsula School District website for job openings.