‘So rewarding’: Metro School unveils student-run café, fostering job skills

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools unveiled a newly developed student-run café at the Metro School in Uptown Thursday.

Principal Fermandi Dyson says this new resource will help students gain experience they need to get jobs in the future.

ALSO READ >> Good Morning America shines light on Cherubs Café in Belmont

The Metro School serves students living with cognitive disabilities. Now, they’ll be able to brew, bake, and serve thanks to this new space.

“We’re going to continue to fight and do what we need to do for our kids because we know that the final impact is going to be so rewarding for our student population,” Dyson told Channel 9’s Eli Brand.

Catina Jenkins’ son attends the Metro School. She says she is “overwhelmed with joy” about the program.

Jenkins’ son isn’t in the coffee club yet, but she says he will be a year from now. She says it’s resources like this that allow her to have hope for her child’s future.

“As a parent of a child with special needs, sometimes you don’t know what your child will be able to do,” Jenkins said. “But once you see a blueprint, you see your child possibly stepping into that blueprint or possibly doing something different.”

The Metro School doesn’t stop at coffee. The school is also opening a greenhouse. It will allow students to learn how to plant foods and learn sustainability.

Dyson says having hands-on work for students is a game changer.

The project got support from multiple community resources. Most of the furniture came from Ikea while much of the labor to put it together came from the Girl Scouts.

VIDEO: Burke County students getting eye-opening experience during Disability Awareness Week