HEWITT, Texas — A coffee shop inside Midway High School in Hewitt is giving special education and hospitality students a place to develop real-world job skills before they graduate.
Red, White & Brew held its 5th annual grand opening, marking another year of hands-on workforce preparation for students on campus.
Cayle Lowe, a Midway special education alumna who once worked in the program, returned to help cut the ribbon at the grand opening. She said the experience shaped her path after high school.
"It changed my life by taking that responsibility, and for working...with kids like this...it brings me joy," Lowe said.
Lowe, now married and working jobs outside of the Red, White & Brew program, said the skills she learned there extended well beyond making coffee.
"The experience, the how to do stuff on doing things, if you wanna work in a restaurant or another job like a store and stuff because it helps you with money counting, how to wrap stuff up," Lowe said.
Current student Arya Duderk said the program gives students a clear sense of purpose and direction.
"Basically we're gonna like serve coffee to other customers and also deliver them to other classrooms and then the whole point of the topic is we get a job and then we keep a job," Duderk said.
The cafe operates fully inside Midway High School, where students practice taking orders, counting money, communicating with customers, and collaborating with other programs across the school. Special education teacher Jennifer Watkins said some lessons simply cannot be replicated in a classroom.
"We work with the students on job skills, and we can do paperwork all day long, but that doesn't really equal the same thing as being in a coffee shop or just working with the students on the everyday skills that we do, like the hard skills and soft skills," Watkins said.
Watkins said the program's impact goes beyond job training, bringing students together across all abilities.
"I think communication and collaboration is just crucial to bringing all of our groups together, whether it's with or without disabilities, bringing us together so that everyone feels included and I'll get really emotional about it, but it's very important to me," Watkins said.
Coffee at Red, White & Brew is currently available only to instructors at Midway High. Teachers said they are looking for ways to grow the program across Central Texas.
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