Brewing Confidence, Skills at Robert F. Kennedy High School’s T-Bird Tea Bar

Every afternoon during fifth period at Robert F. Kennedy High School in Delano, an ordinary classroom transforms into the T-Bird Tea Bar, a place where teachers can get their afternoon caffeine fix, and where special needs students can gain real-world experience that will support them long after they leave campus. The tea bar is a hands-on classroom for the Delano Joint Union High School District’s Transition Program, where young adult students practice life skills, build confidence, and discover their own capabilities. For special education teachers Jessica Villalobos and Deanne Sanchez, who started the tea bar, the experience allows these students an opportunity for independence.

“Our program focuses on ages 18 to 22,” Villalobos said. “We wanted them to have skills as they left our program and transitioned into adult living, skills needed for occupations that they’d be able to hold here in the community of Delano.”

The Transition Program’s curriculum emphasizes three core areas: living, working, and leisure. Students learn functional skills such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping to take care of themselves. They also learn work skills such as money management, resume building, job training, and time management. The tea bar weaves all of these skills together in a way that’s fun for the students.

“I like the matcha and the lemonade,” said 21-year-old student José Bustamante. “I like to deliver them and make them. It’s almost like Starbucks.”

The moment class begins, the students know their routine: wash hands, put on gloves and aprons, organize ingredients, and prepare the orders. Early in the school year, the process requires significant hands-on guidance from the teachers, but by November and December, students are taking ownership of the tea bar and completing tasks on their own, guided by verbal prompts from the teachers. Rene Ayon, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, says his favorite part is watching the students grow. 

“What I like the best is seeing the transition from start to finish and how much the students mature, how much they learn, and how much they love the program,” he said.

The students help create, mix, and pour the drinks, manage the loyalty stamp program, handle payments, and deliver drinks directly to teachers. That includes overcoming shyness as students who once hesitated to step into a classroom now deliver beverages with confidence.

“It’s really incredible to see,” Villalobos said. “They take pride — especially on double stamp days. They know exactly when to give two stamps, and when someone earns a free drink.”

The T-Bird Tea Bar has become a hit across campus, with at least a dozen teachers ordering a drink daily. Pink drinks and matcha are top sellers among students at food fairs and athletic events, where lines stretch across campus, and the tea bar sells hundreds of drinks. Ayon said he loves the way the high school students have embraced their friends in the transition program. 

“During passing periods, they’ll come out here, and they’ll socialize with our other students,” Ayon said. “With our football games, they’ll always have a line of students who want to support. They see them as their peers here at this school.”

Students line up to get drinks on a Food Fair day.

Revenue from the tea bar stays within the program, funding ingredients and resources to keep the tea bar running, as well as recreational trips for the students. Past outings have included going to the movies, visiting local shops, and an upcoming trip to John’s Incredible Pizza — completely paid for by the students’ hard work. It’s not just play; the students are learning valuable social skills through public interactions they might not otherwise get to experience.

“Our favorite subject is leisure,” Sanchez explained. “They get together and reap the benefits of their hard work. They’re trying stuff they’ve never tried before.” 

The program’s WorkAbility grant also plays a key role in preparing students for the workforce. The students hold jobs in the community, some at the local steakhouse, and others doing custodial or cafeteria work at other schools. Skills learned at the tea bar, such as counting change and filling orders, are put into practice during their work hours. The transition program also teaches students to track their hours, calculate their pay, and verify their paychecks, something Sanchez said is essential for all wage earners.

 “People make errors,” Sanchez noted. “Students need to know how to check their pay and advocate for themselves.”

Ayon says that, even though the transition students are young adults, having the program on the high school campus is a major benefit because it allows students to take elective classes and programs they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. 

“We have some students who really love choir, and now they can use their elective period to take choir here at RFK,” he explained. “We also offer an array of elective classes from the arts to CTE to just general electives that the kids can take advantage of.”

Sanchez attributes the program’s success to the dedication of everyone involved, from the student body that supports the tea bar to the staff members who order drinks every day to the teachers who guide students with patience and understanding.

“We have the best staff, which means we have the best students, because everybody wants to try their hardest,” Sanchez said. “We get to see them grow tremendously, to be proud of themselves. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”