Have you heard of the Friday Cafe, part of the Life Skills Special Services Program at the William Matthew Middle School?
Jacinda Rhoads, a William Matthew Middle School Special Education Teacher heads up the Life Skills class which has a Project-Based Learning Project. These projects for our students include learning how to safely cook, bake and prepare items. They also learn how to prepare for shopping and introduce money skills.
The Cafe is just a piece of the class. When people visit our Cafe, they'll be purchasing items that the students have prepared in the classroom. The students are learning to provide customers with friendly, positive service and a smile (maybe the occasional joke or free hug). The classroom project is self-sustaining and all profits go to buying more supplies for the Cafe along with possible opportunities to visit somewhere in the community so that we are able to practice appropriate social skills and our money skills outside of school.