Third and fourth graders at Washington Elementary are running a monthly coffee cart, taking drink orders from teachers and staff across the building.

Students in the school's Bilingual STEP program create order codes, prepare drinks and coordinate deliveries, practicing math, communication and language skills along the way, according to District 65. The district published the announcement Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Four educators developed the project over the summer: Annika Newell, the STEP classroom teacher; Jennifer Rico, a social worker; Hannah Vis, a speech-language pathologist; and Nora Mizell, an occupational therapist. The team set out to connect classroom skills to real-world tasks, the district said.

The STEP program supports students with Autism Spectrum Disorder who benefit from a structured teaching approach, according to the district's specialized-programs page.

The Washington PTA funded the cart's launch. The cart runs monthly.