Staff at Burrell Middle and High Schools have access to an exclusive coffee shop every Friday. But this is no ordinary café. This one is run by students with special needs.

The calendar may read 2020, but in many ways, the Burrell School District is already focused on 2030. As educators, we have an obligation to prepare students not just for the world we are living in, but the world that awaits.

By day, Rodney Schafer works in maintenance at Burrell School District. But as soon as the school day ends, he sheds his maintenance moniker and steps into the role of rocketry instructor, a title he’s held at the district for 16 years.

Along with all the usual excitement of a new school year, students at Stewart Elementary and Huston Middle Schools had an additional change to be excited about — new Chromebooks.

Students in grades 4 to 6 received the Chromebooks on the first day of the school year, and they’ve been using them in the classroom ever since.

As the Food Service Director for Burrell School District, Andrew Klipple is using his previous experience as a chef to provide healthier and tastier options for students throughout the district.

One of his biggest challenges is following the guidelines set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which restricts the use of sodium, mandates increases in whole grain, and governs how many calories, vegetables, fruits, and protein each grade should have per meal.

On October 7 and 8, Burrell High School students were among the first students in Westmoreland County to get training on how to stop life-threatening bleeding.

The training was a part of the Stop the Bleed campaign, a national effort led by the American College of Surgeons Committee that teaches people how to treat wounds that occur in everyday emergencies and man-made and natural disasters.

Beginning this year, Burrell High School students will have the chance to get a head start on their college career.

The school has partnered with Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC) to offer 18 courses that will transfer to college credits if the student passes with a C or higher. Classes are available in a wide variety of subjects, including computer information technology, web design, language arts, and more. Two AP classes also qualify for the program, meaning students can earn dual college credit.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important new methodology backed by 30 years of research that reduces anxiety and aggression in students while also increasing focus and attendance. When educators are well-versed in SEL, this creates a loving and safe environment in the classroom to foster students' abilities to learn.