LUXEMBURG, Wis. — Ella Wessel is on coffee grinding duties.
She’s a Luxemburg-Casco High School student at Spartan Coffee. The coffee shop teaches high school students in the Intellectual Disability Program the skills they will need in the working world.
Wessel said there are other benefits, too.
“I like how it smells when the beans are grinding. It smells so good,” she said.
There’s also a sense of satisfaction in helping make the day for someone else.
“I feel happy because the teachers are happy (when) I bring the coffee to them,” Wessel said. “If they’re happy, I’m happy.”
High school special education teacher Morgan Cherey worked with other schools, Luna Coffee and district staff to launch the program in March.
She said seen it make a difference.
“The way they interact with each other, asking questions, their manners,” Cherney said. “Simple things like eye contact as well as their money-handling skills.”
The goal of Spartan Coffee is to teach the students the employment skills they need.
“It gives them a real work experience here at school and provides them the employability skills they need for the future,” Cherney said. “Soft skills, social skills, communication skills that they can carry into the future and be successful at employment outside of these four walls.”
It gives students like Ayla Parker something else when she had a cup of joe to a teacher.
“I feel like I just made their day just by making them their coffee and serving it to them,” she said. “Just seeing the smile on their faces is the best part.”
Spartan Coffee operates weekly on Tuesdays with coffee beans and other necessities donated by Luna Coffee. Each cup is $1.
Cherney said they’d like to start fundraising with the goal of helping another school in the area launch a similar program.
Wessel said she’s learning skills that can help her pursue a career working with food.
“I’m learning how to be a better student and how to be a better coffeemaker,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a baker when I grow up.”