Gilbert Public Schools Spotlight

Last year, Sonoma Ranch Elementary School started a student-run coffee delivery shop, “Sugar & Spice”. Students who participate in their three autism classrooms (which includes about 45 students) primarily run the coffee shop. Students also practice language, academic, motor, and social skills learned during instructional sessions. STAR functional routines are used during different aspects of the activity. Here is how the coffee shop works. 

Mondays

• Students deliver order forms to the teachers' mailboxes. The students practice a functional routine to walk to the office, put order forms in each mailbox, and return to class. 

Tuesdays

• Students walk around the campus to collect the order forms. Teachers place their completed order forms outside of their classroom. Teachers select type of coffee, size and sweetener/creamer options (e.g., 2 sugars) on the order form. A functional routine is used to collect and sort the order forms.

Wednesdays

• A group of students work together to sort K-cups from a multi-flavor box into coordinating buckets. Each K-cup is marked with a colored dot which corresponds to a colored bucket. This helps the students who are working on matching skills to match color to color. 

Fridays

• The coffee delivery shop is open! Approximately 10 general education peers and 25 students with autism participate making and delivering coffee. There can be up to 35 orders to fill. Six students with autism and two peers are assigned to one of four tables that are labeled by color. Each table has five jobs. The student name and a visual representing their assigned job are set up at the able. Students work on locating their names and following their assigned functional job routine. Jobs include operating the Keurig, sorting the sweeteners, adding sweeter etc., putting lids on and matching to the teachers name on the cart. Peers assist in organizing the operation of the jobs happening at each table. Students switch jobs every six weeks to work on different skills and practice different routines. Each job has visual supports to help with independence. After coffee is made, students take a mobile cart around the school to deliver the coffee to the teachers and collect money.