Traveling Treats Cafe helped keep students’ skills fresh

On Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer, Colonial School District administration offices are visited by the Traveling Treats Cafe. Students in the Special Education Department’s Extended School Year (ESY) program run the mobile snack cart, where they greet customers, sell products, make change and keep track of inventory. “I like working with the money on the iPad,” said Regent Walden, who is entering ninth grade at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School this fall. “It’s fun.” Held in Colonial Elementary School, the ESY program’s Traveling Treats Cafe offers healthy snack options for both the administrative offices and the Montgomery Early Learning Center’s summer care program. “We do this every summer,” said Jared Lieberman who’s also a rising ninth grader. “I like it, because you have a job to do.” During ESY, students work to maintain goals set by their Individual Education Plan (IEP) team during the school year. These goals often touch on reading, math, speech or physical therapy skills. Participants also take part in activities such as cooking, social skills and, at the secondary level, pre-vocational tasks like the Traveling Treats Cafe. Approximately 80 students participated in the ESY program this year.