Cup of Joe, Fossil Ridge High School’s very own coffee shop, helps students develop real life skills. 

When Cup of Joe was first introduced 15 years ago with the name “School Grounds,” it was nothing like it is today. Students did everything out of a cart, instead of where it is today at a counter outside room 503 near the Commons. 

“It was started as a coffee cart. It wasn’t a classroom, it was literally on a cart you had to push around. It was used as a project for a class,” said Christi Thomas, coordinator of Fossil’s Alternative Cooperative Education program.

Running Cup of Joe requires about five to seven students for a 45-minute shift. Before they start work, each student has to take a two-week training class.

“We do all the training and we actually even go to coffee shops,” Thomas said.  “If we don’t have time to visit a coffee shop for a job shadow, we have videos from coffee shops that teaches you how to work the machines, things like steaming milk and making the perfect amount of foam.”

Any student can join the Cup of Joe team. Right now, many students who need extra help with work experience take the class, but if anyone is interested, they can talk to their counselor, who will reach out to Thomas.

“I was referenced, in my second or third year, and I joined,” said senior Noah Scheer, who works at Cup of Joe. 

Cup of Joe is one of the many programs included in the ACE program, which helps students grow and develop skill sets they will need in their future. 

“My biggest challenge is that people think that Cup of Joe is a class. It’s not a class. It’s one of our projects that we do within the class,” said Thomas. “In one class period, we might spend 45 minutes focusing on Cup of Joe. That leaves another 45 minutes where we’re filling out job applications, researching jobs, writing resumes, learning about money and budgeting and such. There’s so much more to it than just Cup of Joe.” 

One of the many benefits of joining an ACE club is that you can acquire credits needed to graduate, like the Career and Technical (CTE) credit, a Poudre School District graduation requirement.

“In the ACE class, you could sign up as a peer helper and help students that are learning job skills,” said Thomas. 

Many people misunderstand the true purpose of Cup of Joe. It is not simply for the money, or even to give students a place to get drinks when they want them, it is much more important than that. 

“I would be interested in working there, they make great drinks and I think it is a good working environment,” freshman Colton Jantz said.