{"id":112468,"date":"2026-02-12T23:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/112468\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T23:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:03:09","slug":"bethlehem-area-school-dstrict-empowers-students-through-on-site-cafe-program-bethelehm-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/112468\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem Area School Dstrict empowers students through on-site cafe program | Bethelehm Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – When you patronize local businesses, you may meet some of the next generations workforce.<\/p>\n

There is a program promoting inclusion and making sure there are opportunities for students beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n

At Bethlehem Area School District, the coffee shop serves more than a cup of joe. The classroom cafe is offering a window to the future.<\/p>\n

“Now I’m on cold snacks and drinks but historically, if that makes sense, I’ve done many jobs,” said coffee shop employee Izade Perez.<\/p>\n

The shop is a place where students like Izade and two dozen other employees make more than a cup of coffee. They’re making connections and building skills to take with them into the world.<\/p>\n

“They want to go into the job field right after high school but need some support with that,” said Freedom High School special education teacher Bridget Hujsa.<\/p>\n

The cafe is part of the STEPS Program<\/a>, where on-site job skills training, turns into school-based employment and then community-based internships. It’s a program designed to set students up for after they graduate.<\/p>\n

“I think kiddos feel successful and independent in here, and it’s pretty good vibes,” said Hujsa.<\/p>\n

It is a place where success isn’t measured in how many hot drinks are made and sold, rather how many students go on to real opportunities. Making a lasting impact.<\/p>\n

“I’m here with all of my teachers even friends that always helped and supported me with everything I’ve done to make the world a better place,” said employee Griffin Farrell.<\/p>\n

Bethlehem Area School District is currently looking for additional community partners to support internships and expand opportunities for students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. – When you patronize local businesses, you may meet some of the next generations workforce. There…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[214,153,155,154,1391],"class_list":["post-112468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-_homepage_top_stories","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-bethlehem-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}