Officers from the Chelmsford Police Department stopped by the lemonade stand at the corner of Richardson and Crooked Spring Roads on Wednesday, July 15, to support the Extended School Year students from Chelmsford High School.
by Jen Oemig
CHELMSFORD – Members of Chelmsford High School’s Providing Academic and Vocational Experiences (PAVE) program have been spending time this summer honing valuable life skills by operating a lemonade stand.
Kristen True Mello, supervisor of students at Chelmsford High School, said the students are in the Extended School Year program, which runs Monday through Thursday, from July 6-August 6.
“This is the first year they’ve done [the lemonade stand],” she said, noting that several years ago, the program operated a coffee shop out of the high school building. “So, this isn’t out of the wheelhouse of something for us to do. … Everybody has a job, and then they rotate the jobs to give everybody an opportunity to focus on their abilities.”
So far, things have been going really well.
“The kids love it,” True Mello said. “They’ve been enjoying all the community interactions.”
Members of the football, basketball, soccer and wrestling teams have stopped by on several occasions to quench their thirst on hot days during summer clinics, as have officers from the Chelmsford Police Department.
Courtney Farrell, a special education teacher at CHS, said she has been very happy with the outpouring of support for the lemonade stand.
“What I love to see is that all the high school students will come without their coaches telling them,” she said. “Our life skills students really appreciate the fact that their peers are showing up. We also have a few freshmen that now will know some kids in the hallways, so they’ll feel more comfortable.”
Through the lemonade stand, students are learning about inventory, marketing, finances, customer service and communication, as well as building relationships with their classmates.
“We want them to have real life skills instead of just doing worksheets and things like that,” Farrell said. “We feel like this is more beneficial for them, and they’re having a blast.”
Special education teacher Kelly Mikus said she and everyone else involved in the Extended School Year program is incredibly appreciative of Josh Tang, a technology engineering teacher at CHS, who built the lemonade stand complete with casters, which allow for easy relocation to and from the high school.
The stand is located at the corner of Richardson and Crooked Spring Roads and is open twice a week, dependent upon the weather, for the next couple weeks. Updates regarding the schedule will be shared on Instagram and X at the start of each week.
“Whatever we make, we’re putting back into the program to help these students have a fun summer, like having a pizza party or buying bracelet makers,” Farrell said.
Anyone who needs a refreshing ice-cold beverage during these hot summer days is encouraged to stop by and support the students. Offerings include regular and pink lemonade, with the option to blend the two flavors.
