Marklund Day School Coffee Shop a perk for staff and students

Since April 2014, staff and teachers from the Marklund Philip Center in Bloomingdale have enjoyed freshly brewed coffee and tea, thanks to a coffee shop operated by Marklund Day School junior high and high school Life Skills students, with assistance from staff.

As students greet staff, take orders and payments, and prepare and deliver drinks, they gain vocational skills, such as managing money and making change for customers, said Megan Michell, high school life skills teacher.

And as students retrieve and sort supplies - cups, creamers, coffees and teas - and prepare the machine for brewing, they get a realistic idea of what a job entails, Michell said. "They learn the steps needed to complete a job, from start to finish."

Operating the coffee shop provides other benefits, as well.

"The activity has a big communication piece," she said. "It encourages our nonverbal students to use their adaptive communication devices to greet others and take orders."

It also has a behavioral component, like learning how to wait patiently as customers decide what to order, Michell said.

"The kids love it," Michell said. "They get excited to interact with others. It is their favorite part of the day. We told one of our parents that their daughter is learning skills, like making change. They were surprised and pleased."