Brewing Success: Student-run coffee shop in business at Chartiers Valley High School

Pay a morning visit to a coffee shop and watch the baristas be bombarded by beverage orders

That would be right up Kendal Astor’s alley.

“I love the stress and the pressure, like when there’s a whole line of things,” the Chartiers Valley High School senior said. “I work really well under that, and I think it’s important to learn how to work well under pressure. And you can’t necessarily just figure that out. You kind of have to be placed in that situation.”

Welcome to Chartiers Valley Coffee Tree Roasters, a partnership between the school district and a Pittsburgh purveyor that views education as an integral part of its mission. Kendal is among 17 students who operate the in-building beverage shop as members of a new course called Brewing Success.

“We offer this class to juniors and seniors, and they have the capability to run the whole business aspect as well as the retail aspect of this space,” teacher Chris Meyer said.

In the early part of school days, that means fulfilling requests for a wide variety of Coffee Tree Roasters products, from basic cups of joe to lattes and drinks ending in “uccino.” After the bustle subsides, that means taking care of matters such as sales forecasts, inventory and, of course, accounting.

“It’s student leadership at its finest,” Meyer said. “In my opinion, this is what education should be.”

The class and shop represent the culmination of his efforts to bring a program that has met with success at other schools to Chartiers Valley.

“It took about five years of persistence to get where we are today,” he said. “That’s something I try to teach the kids. We hit roadblocks along the way, but if you focus on the positive and what you control, good things certainly happen.”

Along with Brewing Success class members, students in the high school’s Life Skills Program are handling tasks in running the coffee shop.

“The best way you can teach these kids is hands-on, so an opportunity like this is better than any book and pencil is ever going to offer,” special education teacher Buffie Faes said. “They’ll learn what it’s like to be working: expectations on the job, appropriate behavior, all of it.”

And their co-workers extend a warm, encouraging welcome.

“I think it’s really important that they have an equal opportunity,” Kendal asserted. “I always have said that.”

With plans to study marketing at the University of Alabama, she is getting a head start by helping take care of CV Coffee Tree Roasters’ social media, learning how that component can attract and retain a strong customer base.

“Having this opportunity to take it out of the classroom, out of the paper and pencil, is really awesome,” she said. “You really understand how everything works and comes together.”

Initial financing for operating the coffee shop came through a $25,000 grant from the Grable Foundation, which strives to improve the lives of children in the Pittsburgh area.

“They’re looking for something that’s pulling your educational institution toward bigger goals,” Julie Franczyk, assistant superintendent of curriculum and assessment, said.

Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund money helped pay for equipment.

“This has been amazing, watching this come along,” Franczyk said. “Everybody is working together, which I think is great for all of the kids.”

From what she’s noticed, that could apply to the customers, as well.

“Everybody is congregating here in a good way, having conversations,” she said. “Teachers are here grabbing a coffee, getting to see their kids in a different way, that’s not inside the classrooms. I feel like it could potential be a nice, positive cultural thing: See your kids and see your teachers in a different light.”

She complimented Coffee Tree Roasters owner Jean Swoope and her staff for the training and support they provide:

“They’re extremely accommodating, and they just want to help kids.”

Plus, she attested, the drinks are delicious.

For Meyer, who worked in finance before deciding on a career change, Brewing Success is living up to its name as an educational asset.

“Part of the reason I became a teacher is I wanted to be different,” he said. “And I think this is different.”