AMHERST, N.Y. — Pretty much every school was impacted by the pandemic. That includes Amherst Middle School, where internships for special education students outside of class were canceled.

Now, they’re finding a new way to get the kids that experience.

Maria Goldman brews up education in her classroom, and not the kind you get from a book.

This is a bit more hands-on.

“We have four Keurigs and these are called punch cards,” said Ameer Dawood, a student who helps run the café, as he gestured to the setup.

A couple of times a month, the student-run café opens for business.

“We stock everything but the kids do the real work,” explained special education teacher Maria Goldman.

Seven students manage it, from setup to clean-up and everything in between.

“They look forward to it," said Goldman. "They’ll ask, 'Is it coffee Wednesday?'"

They learn the little things and the big things.

“I feel ready to do something, like to make coffee for them,” said Kayden Vraughler, another student who helps run the café. 

They also learn the big things, including how to use math when it comes to money management.

“The biggest thing I learned is how to count the money and organize the money," said Dawood. "We have our quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, our $1, 5s, 10s, and 20s."

These are important things to know, especially since these are all special education students.

“The kids in the special education class don't always innately understand the nuances of communication of how to hold a job, so they really need to be taught explicitly,” explained Goldman.

From eye contact to good customer service, these students are taking these lessons and drinking them all in.

“Hello! How can I help with your beautiful morning,” exclaimed Dawood as he greeted a customer.

They're even learning the art of the upsell.

"Most importantly, for this new day, we have merch [...] that you can buy for $5," explained Dawood.

On this day, it was only their third time open, but they've learned a lot.

“It's been wonderful to see the kids really grow and from the first time when they were really unsure what they were doing, to today when we had a line out the door,” said Goldman proudly.

If the customer is always right, then there's already a loyal base.

“I ordered coffee. I'm a black coffee drinker. But I also got my mug and they made this in art class," said Terri Nelson, holding up her new merch. 

“Better than Tim Horton’s?” Spectrum News 1 asked.

“Absolutely! Better than any coffee I've had,” Nelson replied.

It's experience that’s good to the last drop.

All the money earned goes back into supplies.

Anything that’s left over will be donated to the Tiger's Den Food Pantry at the end of the year.