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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Ann Everett Pruet puts a lid on an iced coffee as Juliette Kendrick hands her another cup of ice during the Spartan Sips weekly coffee cart for the vocational skills class at Mountain Brook High School on Nov. 9.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
From left: Bond Higgins, Stephen Trebler, Ann Everett Pruet and Juliette Kendrick hold signs for Spartan Sips in the Commons during their vocational skills class at Mountain Brook High School on Nov. 9.
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Like many great enterprises, Spartan Sips arose from a simple idea: coffee.
The students in Mountain Brook High School’s vocational class sell coffee to their classmates every Friday, learning job skills and communication skills while also having fun.
Millie Gannon, Kelly Chaffin and Andrew Scofield are the three vocational skills special education teachers at Mountain Brook High School, and Spartan Sips began due to their efforts.
While attending a conference in the spring of 2021, Chaffin and Gannon heard about a high school student-run coffee business and were inspired to do the same for their students. Red Diamond, an Alabama-based company, supplies the cold brew coffee bags.
Each Friday, the vocational class students arrive at school a little early, wearing their Spartan Sips T-shirts.
“It has been fun to see students try new jobs each week and express their preferences about which jobs they enjoy versus which jobs they don't really care for,” Gannon said. “Everyone tries each job, and we've been surprised by who is good at what, because it's so different from typical classroom work. We have a variety of jobs that the students rotate through, such as scooping ice, pouring coffee, advertising, customer service and sales. These all help improve fine motor skills as well.”
Gannon added that Spartan Sips provides an excellent opportunity for the students to engage with their peers as they manage the table and sell iced coffee.
“Their favorite part is probably the socializing, and we have seen growth in their conversational skills,” she said. “Students benefit from our profits as well; we use them to fund community outings where we continue to practice life skills and socializing, and we've been able to do some really fun things.”
The profits from each $3 drink go toward funding field trips to places like Top Golf or an escape room.
Mountain Brook Junior High School has a similar coffee cart business run by its special education students and teachers, which took off before Spartan Sips. The junior high program has also been a valuable learning opportunity for the pre-vocational students and popular with the entire school.
Gannon said Spartan Sips enables students to build relationships with their customers, learn practical skills and develop the self-confidence that comes from connection and community. They are developing practical and interpersonal skills that are preparing them for a bright future.
“The students love it,” Gannon said. “They get excited to prepare the coffee every Thursday afternoon, and they have a blast in the mall [common area] every Friday morning, getting to interact with peers and feel ownership in the business.”
Spartan Sips has really given our students a consistent, positive opportunity to interact with the student body as a whole. Our staff looks forward to it as well, as it’s a fun, joyful way to kick off a Friday.
Millie Gannon
Support from their families and Mountain Brook High School staff has been crucial in their ongoing entrepreneurial ambitions.
“The parents have been incredibly supportive, and I think they can tell how much it means to the students and our department as a whole,” Gannon said. “Spartan Sips has really given our students a consistent, positive opportunity to interact with the student body as a whole. Our staff looks forward to it as well, as it's a fun, joyful way to kick off a Friday,”
Spartan Sips is growing as well; they just expanded to tap-to-pay and Apple Pay options along with debit card transactions, and the addition of a second location in the school is being considered.
“We feel so supported by our administration, teachers, staff and students,” Gannon said. “The whole school, the whole community really, has bought in to what we’re doing, and we’re excited to see what’s next.”
Online engagement with Spartan Sips is important to the students. You can follow the business on Instagram @spartansips.
