Last Friday, Cafe Friday students delivered to WPS Central Office staff in the Westwood Building. (Photos submitted)
WESTFIELD – Students and peer mentors in the Developmental Learning Program (DLP) at Westfield High School have a new service and learning opportunity. Café Friday is a special delivery service; in which students deliver coffee, tea, and a choice of baked goods to administration, faculty and staff. Students learn academics through hands-on meaningful experiences and stay busy baking, collecting and organizing order forms, and practicing money skills and social skills, according to Carolyn Busiere, special education teacher, peer mentor coordinator and Best Buddies advisor.
There are 16 DLP students and 30 peer mentors throughout the school day at WHS. The peer mentors that take the class earn half a credit. They provide assistance, friendship and are role models for students in the program. “The peer mentors are excellent, they’re a huge help. The kids respond to them really well. We also get a lot of support from WHS Principal Charles Jendrysik,” Busiere said.
“We just started the business. We hope to expand it next year,” she said, adding that the recipes come from one of the para professionals, Marietta Pami. Pami and several students bake the goods the day before and the morning of Café Friday in the DLP kitchen.
“The kids are involved in baking, handling the order forms, counting, sorting the location of the rooms, and organizing the cream and sugar,” said Busiere, adding that for the first customers the first week, the students decorated mugs from the Dollar Store, which the first customers then got to keep
Each item sold is $1. “Right now, the money is just going into keeping up the items for the baked goods. We also had to buy carafes and initial items from the DLP fundraising account, which paid for the startup,” Busiere said.
Next year, the plan is to expand Café Fridays to the counter in the rear of the library in a café space, where the baked goods and coffee will be served.
WHS librarian Sandra Berestka said the DLP students have been assisting in the school library all year, working at the circulation desk, helping to organize books and delivering materials to teachers throughout the building.
Cafe Friday students deliver orders placed to Central Office staff.
“The collaboration of Library and DLP will expand into the Library Café space next year. The Library Café will be open to all students and staff on Friday mornings. DLP students, Peer Mentors, and library assistants will offer baked goods, hot chocolate and other treats for the entire WHS community, thereby, expanding the hands-on learning experience in a café setting,” Berestka said.
On Friday June 1st, Café Friday went on the road for the first time, taking orders and delivering to Central Office staff in the Westwood building. “It went really well! It was the first time on the road with our deliveries. We appreciated their interest in having us there,” Busiere said.
WHS Principal Charles Jendrysik made sure that he was at the Central Offices for Café Friday. ”I wanted to see my students shine!” he said. “The visit to Westwood was a fun event for everyone. It provided the students an opportunity to get into the community and showcase their work to those in central administration. We have amazing kids at Westfield High School, and seeing them succeed makes me so proud,” added Principal Jendrysik.
Denise Ruszala, Westfield Public Schools Director of Assessment and Accountability agreed. “Cafe Friday was a big hit at Central Office! Administrators and staff members were able to order a beverage of their choice (coffee or tea) and baked goods (coffee-crumb cake or cranberry muffin) prepared by students in the DLP Program at Westfield High School. I chose a coffee and the coffee-crumb cake which was absolutely delicious,” Ruszala said.
Cafe Friday on the road!
“The orders were proudly prepared and delivered by the students who wore aprons and chef hats. It was a wonderful experience for all! The students were able to put their academic skills to work as they organized the event and practiced their money skills. They developed social skills as they interacted with administrators and staff members. The event was a great success and enjoyed by all! We hope Cafe Friday will continue next school year,” Ruszala added.
Principal Jendrysik couldn’t agree more. He said Cafe Fridays are going extremely well at the school. “It’s given all of the students involved an opportunity to work together and learn from each other and has been a great way for our faculty to start off its Friday mornings. I’m quite proud of the collaboration between our librarian Sandy Berestka and special education teacher Carolyn Busiere,” he said.
“We’re proud of the kids,” Busiere said.
