Having a student business has SO MANY benefits.  Depending on what your product or service is, you have the opportunity to practice independence, money math, cooking, responsibility, and so much more!  In this series, various guest bloggers (teachers & special educators) will share their tried and true experience of starting and running a student business for special education students.  Hopefully these posts will give you some great ideas or inspire you to start a classroom business of your own to teach students valuable vocational & life skills!  Up next is a classroom that delivers Halloween candy to classrooms!

About the Guest Blogger:

Hi, I’m Lee Anne.  I am a full time special education teacher and homebound service provider for a small district in southern Indiana. My program includes middle school, high school and transition aged students. I am also a college supervisor for special education major students doing their practicum work at a university in northern Indiana.  I have been a special education teacher for 21 years and have a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary education and a Master’s degree in Special Education (multiple disabilities and physical disabilities).

I focus on embedding academics in activities, community based instruction and work transition skills as well as life skills.  I have a wide range of abilities in my class and the students are considered low functioning.

This school year, our class has expanded our tea & snack cart business to include a Friday charcuterie lunch box for the teachers and staff in our building to order.

How The Business Started:

This summer I threw my niece a wedding shower with a charcuterie spread for the guests. My classroom assistant attended and as we were talking about returning to school and wanting to try to add another school building based job for our students, the charcuterie lunch box was quickly envisioned.

The majority of the items for our charcuterie are purchased already cut and ready to serve, with just one or two items that need to be cut and a few items that need to be washed.  With the wide range of students that we serve, this was a big bonus because we wouldn’t need a lot of cutting prep work to get our food ready.  Charcuterie lunch boxes would also go right along as an expansion to our Tea & Snack Cart school business. 

The new business also created a biweekly community based instructional outing as the students inventory our products and then visit the grocery store to make needed purchases, therefore providing even more learning opportunities.

Administration:

We are a small rural district and have wonderful support from administration when it comes to new opportunities for our students in regards to work transition and community based instructional outings.  I approached our principal about the idea and he agreed that it was a great school based opportunity for the students in regards to work transition. 

Two days after school approval, our school went virtual for 8 school days due to over 40% of the student body population being in quarantine.  This gave staff and I two opportunities to figure out the contents of our charcuterie lunch boxes as far as how many of each item would be included and work on creating various steps to completing them so that each of our students would have a job throughout the procedure.

Safety Considerations:

Because we are dealing with food, staff and students wash hands and wear gloves while handling the food. We are wearing masks also.

Supplies:

• Gloves
• 48 oz. deli containers (styrofoam to go containers could be used)
• 4 oz. cups with lids
• Mailing labels (for purchaser’s name and special instructions)
• Various trays and plates for product lay out
• Cutting board & knives
• Salami, Pepperoni, Crackers, Cheese cubes, Cucumbers, Carrots, Cherry tomatoes, Grapes, Trail mix, Olives, Pickles & individually wrapped chocolate pieces such as Dove Chocolates.
• Money drawer

Student Tasks:

• Assisting to make shopping lists
• Shopping for needed items
• Placing order labels on charcuterie containers
• Slicing cucumbers & cutting midget pickles into chunks 
• Cupping up trail mix 
• Cupping olives & pickles 
• Counting meats, cheeses and vegetables into stacks that will go directly into the charcuterie container
• Assembling Charcuterie lunch boxes
• Delivering to staff
• Collecting money and making change

Time Commitment:

An email is sent out each Monday to staff (we are looking to start using a google form to order). Wednesday is the closing of sales at noon so Wednesday afternoon students and staff check supplies and make a shopping list in 30 – 45 minutes. Every other Thursday, we go to the grocery store for a total of about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Thursday afternoons students will spend about 1 hr and 30 minutes making up cups and counting out stacks of items which are placed on plates then in ziploc baggies.  Fridays students and staff spend about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours assembling the charcuterie lunch boxes and about 30 minutes delivering them.

The Charcuterie Lunch boxes have been a huge success with both staff and students.  The students love the work and the praise they get from staff. The diversity of the job tasks make it possible for every student in our class to have a part in each box.  Staff are very thankful for the opportunity to support the students and to have a nice lunch.  Students are gaining confidence in tasks that they will use in life as well as on job sites.

Thank you for reading and I hope this gives you an idea for a school-based job for your students.

Lee Anne Hahn

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