PITTSBURGH — Kashe Washington, 17, typed the order into a computer and yelled it to a group of students one recent day.
“Sweet tea and cookies,” was the order, as students behind him got the food ready.
That morning, a steady stream of teens entered the Titan Shoppe café in West Mifflin Area High School, part of the school’s life skills program.
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“I like doing the register. … I like to give people their cash,” Kashe said.
Across the region, student stores are popping up in schools, both for life skills — programs that promote independence by teaching students in special education skills for daily living, work and social situations — and general education students to teach teens skills they can use when entering the workforce and that can give them a leg up in a college program.
It’s part of a national trend. In Kansas, culinary students at the Shawnee Mission School District operate the Broadmoor Bistro where they serve a five-course menu, Public Radio station KCUR reported. And in Louisiana, students sell snacks and office services to faculty, according to the Herald Guide.
Locally, several districts have similar initiatives including Leechburg, Riverview, Elizabeth Forward and West Mifflin.
Life skills students at Leechburg, a district of 640 in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, bustle around the Creation Café, preparing snacks, heating frozen food such as Hot Pockets or making hot water for ramen noodles. They also make drinks such as cappuccinos, teas and apple cider.
The café, started in 2019, helps students learn vital skills around money, reading recipes and doing fractions to fulfilling bulk orders and advertising, teacher Rebecca Crooks said.
So far, Crooks has seen growth among the 12 students in the program, including one she called the “register king.”
She’s now hoping to show that life skills students don’t “only run cafes.” The students, Crooks said, can “work anything” from grocery stores and T-shirt shops.
“It would be nice to expand their horizons,” Crooks said.
At Riverview, an Allegheny County district of 1,000 students, life skills teacher Michael MacConnell oversees a business where students make and sell small wood projects such as gift card holders and cutting boards.
The program began eight years ago as students were growing and selling herbs to Riverview teachers. As interest continued — students started selling at local farmers markets — MacConnell partnered with a nonprofit to start a small business, through which MacConnell taught students the process of creating a name and logo, along with elevator speeches and creating merchandise.
Through that, students in 2023 created the business “Made to Learn” with the tagline “Sold to do it again.”
Today, students make and sell herbs, wood projects and Riverview shirts and swag.
Through the program, students learn design skills, how to troubleshoot programs, financial literacy, along with honing fine motor skills.
MacConnell’s also seen improvements with student confidence and social skills, something that allows them to “figure out who they are and what their skill set is and then advocate for that in the workforce.”
At Elizabeth Forward, a district of 2,300 students, general education high schoolers can participate in the In Student Hands Company. There, they make district-themed T-shirts and sweatshirts, which they then market through a website and social media.
The class, which began in 2017, donates money raised from sales to different community causes. This year, the class is donating to the Jodie Matta-Dillinger (JMD) Cancer Resource Center at UPMC McKeesport. So far, they’ve raised $15,000.
“It just makes us feel good for what we’re doing for our community,” 17-year-old Mia Sostaric said.
Mia, a senior, along with 18-year-old Sophia Thompson, a senior, and 16-year-old Torie Bickerton, a junior, are on the businesses social media team where they manage Instagram and TikTok accounts and create content calendars for when videos post.
That’s key for Sophia, who plans to study advertising and PR in college.
“Getting to see what consumers enjoy watching on our Instagram and TikTok accounts, what they like to see and what they don’t like to see, helps me prepare for … my future in general,” she said.
Back at West Mifflin, an Allegheny County district of 2,400 students, general education students, with help from life skills students, can take retail production.
Through the class, art teacher Brian Mann said, students design clothes, wraps, signs and banners and then print or press them on equipment in the high school classroom. In addition to making products for the district, the class also takes orders from outside organizations. The course, Mann said, gives students graphic design skills they can use in college and in their own businesses.
General education students also help at the café, which was started in 2019 by Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Solomon. At the time, he said, life skills students were learning in a “very traditional manner” rather than following a career-oriented model.
The café underwent several changes over the years, but today it has a dedicated space in the high school where students serve hot and iced coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Students can also purchase snacks such as bagels, muffins and cookies. And a cooler has bottled water, pop and Gatorade.
The business, open during first and second periods, is run by life skills students, who use the coffee maker and cash register, models of which are found in area businesses. They also help teachers with Sam’s Club orders and balance the cash register drawer.
That opportunity, 19-year-old Ricardo Rivera said, has taught him “how to do things in life” and how to teach other students similar skills.
Through the program, Solomon said, student attendance has improved, along with soft skills for students in the life skills program.
It also helps create acceptance of students with disabilities within the high school.
Sage Chalfant, a 16-year-old junior, has spent her high school career working with life skills students. Today, she helps at the café.
“It’s really nice,” Sage said. “It’s something I want to do when I’m older so it’s giving me the opportunity to see if it’s something I really want to do.”
For Solomon, that is the overall goal of the Titan Shoppe.
“We wanted them all to just be students and that’s how they treat each other,” Solomon said. “It’s just wonderful.”
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