By: Aleah Blaszak- OwlFeed
Follow on Twitter @BlaszakAleah
You may have noticed your second hour teacher getting coffee or hot chocolate between 9 and 10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays delivered by your fellow Agua Fria students.
This is because here at Agua Fria High School, we have a program called Special Blend that was created to help a group of awesome kids in special education learn how to build job skills in the real world by selling hot beverages.
The teachers put their orders in in advance and the students deliver the $1 beverage. By being involved in this, they are learning job skills such as: customer service, how to follow directions, how to properly prepare food and how to inventory items and restock.
Initially, Special Blend was not an easy program to get going at Agua Fria. It was difficult to secure funding and to get the word out to teachers. But, after some time, it has blossomed into something great and the program is finally starting to take off.
Mr. Morris, one of the teachers of a special education class, has been part of operating the Special Blend program for eight years. Agua Fria is the fourth school he’s done it at.
At his previous school, Ironwood, they delivered 5 days a week to 3 different campuses. This was great for the kids because they would go into the community and people would recognize who they were.
Mr. Morris believes in this program a great deal and knows that it is doing great things for our special education kids.
The kids involved love it and have nothing but joy when they are asked about it. I asked Carlos, Michael, Serena and Johnny what their favorite part of being involved in this program is and they all responded with earning money and seeing/meeting new people.
Special Blend is not only great for them to learn job skills but it is also great for them to get involved in the school and meet other students.
If you happen to pass by them say hello and let them know if they come to your class. They would love to make a new friend on the campus.
In the future Mr. Morris would love to operate his own coffee shop that employs adults with special needs. At Agua Fria he would like to add espressos to the menu but unfortunately for us students, the program is only available to teachers.
Not only do teachers get this great service but they can also become a VIP member by paying a mere $40 before the semester begins. Being a VIP means that they get hot beverages for the whole semester and they receive a free coffee cup with the Special Blend logo on it.
Teachers who would like to start receiving coffee or hot chocolate can email Mr. Morris at [email protected].