A student-run store is serving up snacks to teachers at McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School while delivering learning opportunities to students in special education programs.
Special education teachers Amber Burks, Alyssa Early, and Catherine Twardowski created the Raider Snack Shack in the last school year to supplement the academic coursework for special education students. All three teachers were new to Highland Park ISD, Twardowski explained, and they realized that MIS and HPMS lacked a life skills simulation program for students with special needs.
“Fifth through eighth grade is an extremely important time for students to engage with the community and gain skills they can carry with them for the rest of their lives,” she added. “When Ms. Burks asked Ms. Early and I to come together as a team to create the Raider Snack Shack, it was a no-brainer!”
For the 2026-2027 academic year, the Raider Snack Shack will rebrand as The Scot Snack Shack to match the mascot change of Raiders to Scots at MIS and HPMS.
The Scot Snack Shack teaches students money management skills, such as counting money accurately, in a hands-on way and enables them to become more self-sufficient, Early said. At the same time, the snack shack helps teachers refuel with treats such as chips, sodas, bottled Frappucino drinks, and crackers.
Teachers order their snacks in advance, and they are delivered by groups of students about once a week. Teachers pay for the snacks using play money.
“Everyone deserves to feel like they have a purpose, so building vocational skills for our students is a high priority,” Early remarked. “We want to see them graduate and reach their maximum level of independence, and hopefully that includes having a job, even if, to a neurotypical person, the job may seem small.”
Burks said that not only does the Snack Shack offer a fun break between academics, but it also can give students more real-world independence.
“One of the best parts of the Snack Shack has been seeing how excited the students are to participate. They genuinely enjoy being a part of it, and it’s created a lot of positive interactions with both staff and peers,” Burks said. “It’s been such a rewarding experience to watch them grow through it.”
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