The Best Buddies program at Rancho Cucamonga High School hosted the Buddy’s Brew Coffee Shop for the students in RCHS’s functional and practical program to get a feel for real job experiences on Friday, Oct. 19, 2023. 

   Buddy’s Brew Coffee Shop was a popup coffee shop on campus where students, teachers, and staff could purchase hot or iced coffee, hot tea, stickers, and more from the students in the functional and practical program. 

Paraeducator Ms. Sonia Arias came up with the idea for the students in this program to get this hands-on learning opportunity. The set up of the brew shop was useful for giving the students job and life skills to prepare them for when they graduate. 

“With a cashier, greeters, cleaners, and people who brew the coffee, this experience gave job skills that they wouldn’t normally get in the outside world because of their cognitive level,” said RCHS teacher Mr. Daniel Fernandez. 

This opportunity is meant to provide students with the confidence to be able to take on roles in life. Some of the students took coffee orders and others greeted the customers.

“We’re thinking about doing a food handling certificate and working up on it,” said teacher assistant Ms. Dani Rivas. “Possibly doing this on a daily or weekly basis.” 

This experience is valuable when it comes to providing the opportunity for the students to gain insight into the real world. Not only will they get a feeling of how jobs are, but the students will be able to socialize with other people. The more that the students may do these pop ups, other peers may notice and visit a bit more often. 

The teacher’s ideas for these shops to come, in the future, provide a sense of community and also a learning environment for everyone. Anyone could participate in showing up to the shop to support the educational aspect of jobs for their peers while the students can have fun with these interactions.

Overall it was a memorable learning opportunity for the students, staff, and peers to experience.