Oak Mountain students learn job skills with Cafe Three21

On hot summer Saturdays, kids from Oak Mountain High School’s special education class can be found serving iced coffee, lemonade and sodas at Cafe Three21.

Cafe Three21 is a popup coffee shop at the Valleydale Farmers Market, created by OMHS para-educator Missy Smith and former OMHS special education teacher Tyler Coppock, who joins Chelsea High School’s staff this fall. Smith said the cafe is meant to teach students the skills they would need to find and succeed in a job.

“There’s just so many needs that we serve through something like this,” she said.

After leaving the school system at age 21, Smith said many special education students are not able to be employed and instead spend almost all of their time at home. While in college, Coppock said he saw the need for a way to teach those technical and social skills.

“We have a lot of students, a lot of our kids who, once they age out, they’re not able to be employed because they have needs that a regular employer would not be able to facilitate,” Smith said. “A lot of our kids go home and watch cartoons because their parents are busy.”

The cafe idea came about after Smith and Coppock heard of similar programs around the country and talked about the possibilities of a small popup. Cafe Three21’s name comes from trisomy 21, an alternate name for Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome have a third copy of the 21st chromosome.

The cafe receives its coffee beans through a deal with Non-Fiction Coffee Co., who Smith said has been a generous supporter. Smith brews the beans each week and OMHS students run the farmers market popup, including serving the drinks and handling payments.

“We set it up and then that’s all we do,” Coppock said, other than some minor help and prompting.

There are typically four students, split in two shifts, working on each Saturday, and Smith said they are paid $8 per hour for their time. The goal is to make enough to continue covering their costs, though Smith and Coppock said they would like to expand the cafe concept in the future.

Cafe Three21 could become a year-round project or expand to other Shelby County or Jefferson County schools. With enough support, Smith said it could someday become its own storefront.

“It would be great if you could get a couple streams of income that would support the base, so on those days where you’re slow, you still have a place for those kids to go,” Smith said.

Since they launched at the beginning of the summer, they have been pleased with the support and response from the community, including the GoFundMe campaign to pay their initial starting costs. People have not only bought drinks but have also brought younger children with special needs to get to know older students, Smith and Coppock.

“It was great just how many people embraced it and every week has been amazing,” Smith said.

Cafe Three21 will continue at Valleydale Farmers Market until the market closes, around Labor Day, Smith said. The market is located at Faith Presbyterian Church at 4601 Valleydale Road and is open 8 a.m. to noon.

For more information about Cafe Three21, visit facebook.com/cafethree21.