Everett High brews inclusivity and career skills

EVERETT, DEC. 10: Before the 7:30 a.m. first-period bell rings, students are already working on coffee orders.

The espresso bar, nestled in the corner of the Everett High School cafeteria, is an ambient oasis where students and staff can order beverages throughout the day.

But the location serves a greater purpose in career development, acting as an inclusive functional vocational program. 

The Harbor Coffee House is open to all students at Everett High School as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) course but with the primary focus on integrating Extended Resource and General Education students together to foster after high-school career skills.

“For students with Right-to-Work paths after high school, a vocational program like ours enables them to develop employable job skills by performing them in their coursework,” Special Education Teacher Dave Bergeson said.

The program was created in 2017 and is managed by paraeducator Jennifer Hannon and Bergeson. According to Hannon, it took several years before Harbor Coffee began running at full capacity, as it is today. 

“It’s very common that some of our special education programs have job sites at school, to do a variety of different things, but this is one that really is truly inclusive for kids,” Everett High School Principal Kelly Shepherd said. “They’re [Extended Resource students] working right alongside with their GenEd peers, but more importantly, they’re interacting and making drinks and providing a service to our students.”

Day to day

At the beginning of each school year, espresso professionals at Whidbey Coffee teach students how to operate the espresso machine, paraeducator David Clark said. 

Students operate the espresso bar during first and second period for faculty and staff. Fourth period is split between the two lunch periods, where the coffee house is open to the whole school.

“It’s one of the students’ favorite places,” Shepherd said.

Coffee prices are not meant to be competitive, but affordable for students and staff. Since Harbor Coffee isn’t open to the general public, it allows the school to have more freedom in pricing. Here, a 16-ounce latte is nearly $3. 

Fifth period is dedicated to cleanup, while sixth period involves a marketing class where students learn about promotions, social media management, and cash wraps.

“Even within the classroom, there’s a continuum of strengths and weaknesses and skill sets, so we do a really good job of matching and building…,” Shepherd said.

A delivery crew, made up of primarily Extended Resource students, packages drinks and delivers them to faculty across campus. Hannon said teachers offer feedback and genuine exchanges that help build real-life skills. 

Everett Public Schools as a whole serves more than 2,900 students who are eligible for special education services.

All in all, the Coffee House is “90% student-run,” Clark said. 

Profits made from Harbor Coffee go back into the program to fund field trips where students practice different skills part of the curriculum.

“It’s a really good program, and I love to see all of them grow… Even with my GenEd kids, who are just quiet, now they’re greeting people as they come in the door. And that’s the kind of skills that you need for the real world, you need people skills. So, I think that’s really important on the GenEd and on the SpecialEd side,” Clark said.

Former student Fern Calderwood took the class every year since her freshman year. She said the class helped her be more social and confident. The Harbor House helped her gain a position at Starbucks with the skills she gained.

“It’s such a community. Since I worked there for so long, I had a reputation as the coffee person, and it made me want to try harder. I think I definitely learned to have a work ethic and to have passion,” Calderwood said.

This year alone, four students enrolled in the class received jobs, Clark said.

How it began

Paraeducator Hannon and special education teacher Bergeson have been working together since 2005.

“Dave and I are a team. We have always been a team and have had 20 years of friendship,” Hannon said.

Hannon would occasionally cover for Everett High’s student store, run by the DECA program. When she did, she would integrate her Extended Resource students with General Education students. 

A student from the DECA class told their parents how much they enjoyed working with the Extended Resource students, prompting a donation to support a program connecting all the students, Hannon said.

With the donation in hand, Hannon and Bergeson knew where they wanted to put it towards: coffee.

The name Harbor Coffee House was created after months of consideration. The idea, Hannon said, was that the location was “a port from the storm,” a “safe place to come and anchor.”

Bergeson built most of the wood pieces, from the shelves to the counters. Soon later they received an additional grant from BECU that Bergeson applied for. The PTA also contributed hundreds of dollars for supplies, Hannon said.

“Everything you see is intentional; it is supposed to feel like something outside of here, so it has a School-to-Work feel,” Bergeson said.

The program is unlike anything out there, Hannon said. She hopes that more schools implement an inclusive vocational program.

“There isn’t anything like it in the schools. It’s a place where students feel successful, belonged and where everyone is welcome,” Hannon said.