Kathy Morgan has been a special education teacher at Reyonlds Middle School since she graduated college almost 40 years ago. She’s had hundreds of students walk through her doors, but this year the bond between her students and the school staff has grown closer than ever before.
This rapport is thanks to a project Morgan started called the Puzzle Piece Cafe. It’s not actually a cafe, but more like a mobile cart that provides teachers and staff members coffee in the morning before school. Two of Morgan’s students—all of whom are on the austim spectrum—work the cart each morning, giving the students a chance to interact with other people and learn how to run a business. The program for autistic students in Hamilton Township was expanded to the middle school level seven years ago after the students had no program geared especially for them after leaving elementary school. All public middle school students who are not mainstreamed go to Reyonlds to continue their studies.
“Sometimes they love doing it and other times they just don’t,” Morgan said. “They hesitate because they have to go out of their comfort zone. I have to draft them to do it sometimes, but I read how they are feeling each morning and pick who will get to do it. Most absolutely love doing it after they are comfortable with it.”
Morgan came up with the idea for Puzzle Piece Cafe in October 2015 after coffee makers were taken out of every room except the teachers’ lounge for safety reasons. The lounge is far away from much of “the action” so Morgan thought it would be a good idea to create a business that would benefit both the staff and students.
“The neat thing about all of this is that the idea came from an assistant in my room,” Morgan said.
The cart used for the business is repurposed from a play school students performed a few years ago. In fact, the best part of the entire process, Morgan said, was allowing the students to paint and decorate the cart. All of her students were able to take part in every aspect of the process. They spent a couple of weeks perfecting the business model and then began selling coffee, tea and hot chocolate in December. The name “Puzzle Piece Cafe” is a nod to the National Autism Campaign symbol of a blue puzzle piece representing the complexity of autism.
Two students are chosen to run the cart in the main lobby between 7:55 and 8:20 every morning, and utilize the skills they learn in class in a real life setting. The students have a rotation so that everyone eventually gets to manage the cafe. They are taught how to manage money, communicate with peers and adults, basic learning skill and more.
Students that have never been able to speak with strangers have come out of their shells through managing the cart and becoming comfortable with the staff, Morgan said. It is a rewarding experience for all and boosts the morale of the staff and students alike.
“I really enjoy interacting with the teachers,” said Dannyel, a student in the class.
Harry, another student in Morgan’s class said, “I love working the café and raising money to go on a trip.”
The staff pay for their drinks at Puzzle Piece Cafe and sometimes make donations. All of the money from the cart goes to the class’ end-of-the-year field trip to see a film at Hamilton AMC and out to lunch nearby.
“My students don’t go out much through school trips, so this huge trip will be great for them to have,” Morgan said.
Once students get comfortable with working Puzzle Piece Cafe, they often show a new side of themselves to everyone—especially their sense of humor. Morgan’s students love being able to talk with teachers and really open up through working with them. Most of them are “super excited” to work everyday, Morgan said.
And Puzzle Piece Cafe has been great for the Reynolds staff, too. Not only are they grateful to have a mobile cart right where they pass through everyday instead of having to haul to the lounge to get their morning coffee, they have also enjoyed the opportunity to work with Morgan’s students, she said.
This interaction between teachers and her students is the best part of Puzzle Piece Cafe, Morgan said.
“Puzzle Piece Cafe makes other people see the realm of students,” she said. “They get to see their personalities, build a relationship with them and really connect. Really, they just get to see how awesome my kids really are.”
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