Teachers devote their careers to shaping young minds. Who knew they would use coffee as a way to teach social skills, money management and to build relationships among peers? 

In two St. Vrain Valley Schools — Trail Ridge Middle School and Longmont Estates Elementary — students with special needs are practicing social skills as they manage their own business — a coffee cart. 

At Trail Ridge Middle School, the coffee cart delivers fresh brew to teachers through a partnership between special needs and general education students. The idea for the program began a few years ago as Assistant Principal Lynsey Robinson worked with Significant Supports Needs, or SSN, teacher Becci Warren. The duo had hoped to implement it during the 2020 school year but COVID-19 thwarted the plan. The 2021-22 school year is the first chance Trail Ridge had to roll out the program, according to Robinson.