With summer session in full swing, Transition Services students are once again stepping behind the counter at Brookville Beans to build workplace skills while serving up ice-cold specialty drinks on campus. Following a short break between school sessions, Brookville Beans opened back up on July 7. Students ages 14 and older have returned to learning every aspect of running the coffee shop.
The shop is now open three days a week instead of two, with an expanded menu.
“So far, so good,” said Denise Gaughan, Director of the Education Center. “They know exactly what to do. They come in first thing, wash their hands, get their gloves on, put their apron on, get ready to go,” Denise said. “We can step back all the time and just go, ‘you got this.’” According to Denise, students have been doing an excellent job adapting to the growing list of options on their summer menu.
“We have s’mores lattes which are new to everybody. We had a lot of requests for regular iced tea and lemonade, and you can make an Arnold Palmer with that, especially since Arnold Palmer was a big request,” Denise said.
To help students learn the new menu items, teachers created pictorial recipe guides to help them memorize the new recipes. As new students enter their high school years, they take on trial shifts at Brookville Beans to gauge their interests.
On their first day, Logan Yun and Anthony Metten hit the ground running. With Carolyn Macchia and Sara Depalo, the school’s new Transition Coordinators, by their side, the boys quickly began serving up sweet drinks and smiles.
“Did everybody order?” Logan asked the line of customers. Working the register, Logan also totaled customer orders and quickly handed back the correct change.
Logan enjoyed his first day on shift and the opportunity to build skills for the future. “I’m most excited that I’m going to have a job later on,” Logan said.
Anthony’s role was making drinks. When a s’mores latte order came through, Carolyn helped him flip through the drink’s pictorial guide as Anthony followed step by step. On his first try, he crafted a delightful, iced coffee.
At Brookville Beans, students gain hands-on experience managing a busy coffee shop and building skills that will serve them for a lifetime—communication, money handling, patience, and critical thinking.
With each completed order, the students are also growing more confident and take pride in a job well done.
The Brookville Beans experience is also a special moment for Carolyn, who is eager to contribute to students’ success.
“We’re working with students turning into adults,” Carolyn said. “Seeing what comes next and how we can create a place in the world for them, where they can contribute because, they all have it in them to do that. This is really exciting, I love this!”
