UPDATE: We have received news on Horace High Schools’ coffee shop! The Early Bird, a student led coffee shop, will be opening Wednesday, September 27! The coffee shop, managed by Ms. Steffins, has finally gotten the go to open, after months of interruptions, and other multitudes of problems along the way.

The Early Bird is hoping to be student led, with Steffins as the supervisor. Primary students working will be FCCLA, but more opportunities will arise! Steffins is hoping for 5 students a day to help run the shop. This second semester, the coffee shop hopes to open their job opportunities to more students. Working at The Early Bird will provide business, management, and food service opportunities. The shop will also include leadership roles.

The shop has had various reasons for not opening sooner. Steffins reports wanting to wait for a full high school and having to work through backend problems. As we interviewed Ms. Steffins, she had wonderful insight to this business. She reports having to use the WFPS mandatory ‘Smart Snack’ guidelines.

The Early Bird will be spending the next few months working on new recipes, hiring students, and learning about the new equipment. Ms. Steffins does not know what profit gains there will be, but she is mostly looking to serve the students and staff. The Early Bird has received lots of CTE and district support, making this project easier, and making it happen.