ALBERTVILLE – Exceptional indeed.
After years of planning, the Exceptional Aggies Café will finally have its big moment when it officially opens to the public on Oct. 18. For Albertville High School Special Education teachers Paula Kaylor and LaWanda Mitchell, it’s been a journey.
“Everyone needs to have purpose in life, and this gives our students a way to show what they are capable of doing, and it gives them pride in their accomplishments,” said Kaylor.
The café, housed at LifePoint Church in Albertville, is ran by a rotating group of 10 exceptional Aggies from Albertville High School. Students ride over to the café from the high school to complete the prep work and setup for the day. Each student is given tasks that are broken down based on their ability level and on building up to what their ability levels can handle. They serve lunch from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. before cleaning up and heading back to the school to finish their day.
When LifePoint burned in 2019, the church rebuilt the area that is home to the café with a commercial kitchen with the idea of having it ran by exceptional students. The opening has been two years in the making, suffering delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Albertville Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a ribbon cutting at the café on Oct. 18 at 11 a.m.
“The café gives our students a chance to transfer the skills we are teaching in the classroom into real life locations, and it gives the community a chance to see our students completing tasks and working in a real-life setting,” said Mitchell. “Employers have an opportunity to see our students as employees and potential hires. Plus, our students gain confidence in their abilities so they feel like they can go get a job.”
The use of the term “exceptional” originated in the latter part of the 20th century as a euphemism that replaced denoted students with disabilities as “handicapped.” Exceptional learners is the term used in the U.S. to refer to students with disabilities. It’s the mission of the Exceptional Aggies Café to provide supported work-based learning opportunities that teach students the skills they need to be able to work in the community. For Kaylor and Mitchell, their passion lies in seeing students exit their program and have jobs outside the café.
“It’s such a good program. It provides our students a lot of opportunities that they just can’t find in an academic setting. We love teaching academics, but we can see where our kids need more of the functional skills like reading and money. These things will help them as an adult every day,” said Kaylor.
In the past, students have worked with local industries to not only build on their skills but to also help with needs a business may have. These have ranged from putting together pizza and cake boxes, corners on frames, sorting packets of information and clothes, and even packing materials in bags. Working in the café, the students are also able to practice their functional reading and functional money skills. They are reading labels, boxes, menus and directions, handling the cash register and reading numbers to fill orders.
The culinary program at Albertville High School invited the students to learn alongside the culinary students. The students had kitchen labs and explored different ways to make the recipes. The menu features hot dogs, wraps and salads named after Albertville landmarks, like the Depot Dog Combo and the McCord Salad. Prices range from $5-$10.
“Going back 25 years ago, we didn’t have the type of inclusion and support in schools for students with our exceptionalities that we have now,” said Mitchell. “It’s been an amazing shift to see our kids so included and supported. That’s one reason why this is such an amazing opportunity for them to be able to give back to the community and show the community how much we can do because of the support they have given us.”
Awareness and advocacy, according to Mitchell, have played significant roles in shifting the narrative surrounding students in the special education program. Through programs like Aggie Pals and elective classes, the school creates an inclusive atmosphere that has led to some extraordinary friendships. Kaylor said she frequently sees her students interacting with other students, high-fiving and giving fist bumps in the hallways.
“Principal (Jordan) Phillips and the entire administration at the high school have done anything and everything to help us. They’ve given us the time we needed to work on the café, and the system provides our transportation,” said Mitchell. “We have a strong support system at Albertville. The teachers are willing to work with us and our students, so they feel welcomed. We are going to start washing and drying culinary aprons, Coach (Chip) English has a couple of our students come sort uniforms for him, the CNP (Child Nutrition Program) staff taught us how to sweep, mop and how to dust and clean the tables.”
For two weeks, the students ran soft openings as an opportunity for students to learn skills for doing the job before the café opened to the public. Students were able to figure out the flow and adapt to unique situations and challenges in a new way. The students served an average of 35 customers each day.
“Come and visit us. Eat with us. Business owners and prospective employers, come check us out,” said Kaylor. “Come see what we can do. You’ll be surprised.”
The Exceptional Aggie Café is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Emily Seckel, a former special education teacher now lawyer in Guntersville, serves as president of the organization. It’s open Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. following the Albertville City Schools calendar. It’s located inside LifePoint Church at 700 Motley Street in Albertville.
The Exceptional Aggies Café will open its doors to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. The Albertville Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a ribbon cutting at the café on Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. The café, housed at LifePoint Church in Albertville, is ran by a rotating group of 10 exceptional Aggies from Albertville High School. Pictured from left is Faith Martinez, Kaci Young, Catarina Perez, Paula Kaylor, special education teacher at Albertville High School, Jose Mendoza and Dakota Todd.
