Creation Café teaches students life skills

Students have a new option for learning and snacking at Leechburg Area High School. The Creation Café, which opened this fall in the school’s library, offers a variety of foods from pizza and freshly baked cookies to coffee and hot chocolate. It also is a learning lab for students in the life skills/learning support class, who staff the café.

In an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Superintendent Tiffany Nix said “The Creation Cafe was designed with our life skills program in mind. Our life skills students and staff run the cafe program from top to bottom, which includes inventory, preparation, cleanup and accounting.”

The 15 students who handle operations receive a grade for work study and math. They handle the daily finances of running the store, and learn skills in customer service, inventory and food preparation. Proceeds from the café go to class field trips, supplies and equipment.

Right now, the café is open for limited periods in the morning and afternoon, and students can visit during their study hall. However, future plans include running the store during hours when the library is open to the public.