One Class at a Time: La Pine HS students go from making coffee to building a career
Also run cafe, greenhouse; NewsChannel 21, Mid Oregon Credit Union give $500 to La Pine HS Life Skills class
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There’s nothing like a fresh cup of coffee to start your day, and for La Pine High School students in the Life Skills Program, it could lead to job opportunities after graduation.
The Life Skills Program, made up of 20 students, provides students hands-on vocational experience daily.
Students Trisha Cross and Aaron Hoestinacci run Hawk’s Coffee Cart, and are learning barista and customer service skills. Cari Fike, a special education teacher at La Pine High, told NewsChannel 21 the students, especially Cross, mastered the coffee-making business.
“One of our students (Cross) was interested in serving coffee and we were able to get a grant for an espresso machine, and have taught her how to run the coffee stand, and she’s independent now in doing that," Fike said.
Both Cross and Hoestinacci plan to use the skills they've learned in this class to get a job.
“It’s fun, and I get to experience bills, and work on my own," Cross said.
“I’m going to work here one day so I can make money once a month, Hoestinacci told NewsChannel 21. “We start delivering every time we do café, every Friday.”
The students sell beverages to faculty and students, and another group of students work in the café. The café runs once a week, and students prepare and serve meals for staff at local schools in La Pine.
“We try to take all the students and their individual needs and incorporate their strengths in the different activities we do," Fike said. "Every year, it is kind of a revolving door of what we do in the classroom.”
The students also operate the greenhouse on campus, growing and caring for flowers. Every year, La Pine High School has a greenhouse sale open to the community. The money the students raise in the program goes toward recreational opportunities for the class to do together.
NewsChannel 21 and our partners at Mid Oregon Credit Union donated $500 to the class, which will help expand the coffee cart, and provide more recreational opportunities in the future.
