Eagle Era

Triple-C students prepare a coffee cart for teachers at AHS

By Ananya Pangarkar

Students in AHS’s Triple-C special education program are preparing to launch a coffee cart for teachers this February, combining practical career skills with community connection. The project, led by special education teacher Ms. Miller, is designed to give students hands-on experience with real-world responsibilities. 

“In this class, they are learning practical skills,” Ms. Miller said. “The coffee cart came to fruition because I wanted to make sure that they had something tangible to work on so that they had a connection to the project.”

Students have been responsible for nearly every step of the project from planning to publicizing. “The students have written every letter and survey, looked at data, and done all the financial work. Everything has been very student-based,” said Ms. Miller.

Once the project launches, orders will be placed through a form. Students will prepare items such as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in their classroom kitchen and deliver orders directly to teachers. Ms. Miller explained, “We’re going to have a whole assembly line of napkins, bags, and coffee cups. Each student will have a specific hallway and specific teacher that they deliver to.”

Throughout the preparation process, students have faced many challenges, particularly with funding and budgeting. Ms. Miller said, “Getting [the coffee cart] up off the ground actually took more money than we thought it would.”

Triple-C student Samba Poludasu (11) worked on preparing the coffee cart in the classroom’s kitchen. “[The process] has been challenging for me, but to see the looks on their faces and how happy they are that they’re being recognized for who they are—it’s been the best,” said Ms. Miller (Photo Credit: Ms. Miller).

Students working on the coffee cart echoed this concern. “Money was difficult,” said Harshit Nalluri (10). “It was too much money, and we couldn’t get it right away.”

Despite these challenges, students have learned valuable skills through the stages of preparing the coffee cart. “I learned what steps you need to build a business,” Nalluri explained.

Many students like Rishaan Anand (9) enjoyed the process. “The math was the hardest part, but I liked making the menu,” he said.

Other students highlighted the teamwork skills they gained as a major part of the experience. “I like to work with other people,” said Sanskriti Chinthekindi (11). “We have to do everything all together to learn new things.”

The goal of the coffee cart is to help special-education students connect with the larger school community. “A lot of people don’t think about us,” Ms. Miller said. “What I’m hoping is to integrate these students into the larger narrative of AHS. Teachers throughout the school are going to be able to say, ‘You’re the one who delivered my coffee.’”

Ms. Miller had to invest a lot of time as the teacher in charge of the project. “Being a special-education teacher in general can be overwhelming with all the paperwork and the parents that we need to talk with—so putting more work on top of it can be hard,” she explained.

Yet, the coffee cart remains as a sign of all their progress throughout the year. “The project shows how much effort we put in. We worked on it for 3 months, I want [people] to know how hard we worked on it,” Nalluri said.

As the February rollout approaches, the Triple-C students continue to work hard on preparations for their coffee cart. With teachers engaging directly with students through the project, the coffee cart is set to become a meaningful part of mornings at AHS. “Something that’s really important to me as a special education teacher is that my students are not pushed to the back,” Ms. Miller explained. “I want them to be in the center.”