FAQs

  • Our main partner and instructional space is located within The Way Church in Fenton, MI. However, we are partnering to host our Food Truck in various locations throughout the county as well as finalizing supplemental instructional spaces.

  • We are unapologetically partnered alongside the vision of The Way Church. However, our beliefs do not influence the educational content presented. Student and family belief systems do not impact performance in this program. Instead, we pray this outreach will let the community see the willingness to serve and meet needs with love.

  • Our director and lead teacher, Olivia Sanders, has a State Certification in both Secondary Mathematics and Special Education, Learning Disabilities. She has served as a teacher in other non-profit programs, as well as taught 5 years within the public school system. She has a MA degree in Learning and Technology, and 30 MA credits of coursework in Educational Leadership.

  • Our cohorts will run in small groups. While we do not have a weekly schedule to present for the fall, our goal is that at a minimum, each group is seeing a weekly 4 hour block of employment experience, as well as 4 hours of instruction.

  • No, this program is intended to prepare and equip students for future sustainable employment. Our student employees are paid 1099 for the hours they are working in our coffee truck. They are not paid for the additional instructional time in the classroom. Our specific goals for each student are geared toward helping them find long-term employment within the community.

  • This program is intentionally designed to adapt to each student’s needs. Some students may need weeks while others need months. Students that elect to be a part of this program will have a timeline decided by the instructional team and guardians. Some of our educational partners follow a semester timeline, and our program will mirror that schedule for those specific students.

Our Board

  • Pastor at The Way Church, Scott has start-up and community experience alongside big-picture visions for the Way Coffee Co.

  • As a marketing professional with experience alongside companies such as Mariott Bon Voy, GM Rewards Card, and various Airlines, Will brings contractual expertise alongside marketing strategy to The Way Coffee Co.

  • Terry is a parent of multiple young adults with learning differences, he has experience with the other end of these programs alongside investment, realtor and business experiences.

  • Learn more about our founder & director below!

From the Founder:

“This program is not simply a company open to hiring young adults with disabilities and letting them work, this is a goal-oriented, organized process that meets people where they are and focuses on what they need to work on.”

Fenton is a beautiful, growing place. My husband, Will, and I moved here after college in 2018, where we then found an amazing church on its first Sunday open. We found our best friends and our church family! We later bought a house a few doors down. Soon after we had completed our family with the addition of our daughter, Ember. This program partnering with The Way Church allows us to provide outreach to our Fenton community, and aid in the Church's mission to find those in need of the Gospel and follow them through this journey.

The equally important pillar of this mission is the opportunity it will provide for families and young adults in the area. In the State of Michigan, there are many programs and special education services, up to the age of 26. I see the value in the accountability, accessibility, and funding that can be found within government programs. The problem with many of these programs is that a student needs to have a certain level of cognitive impairment to qualify. This leaves many students with mild to moderate learning disabilities and differences in a unique situation after high school, not quite ready to join the workforce with limited grace, but not grasping the vocational skills needed to move forward in many positions. Sharing this vision and speaking with various parents has only cemented the knowledge of this unique need.

This program is not simply a company open to hiring young adults with disabilities and letting them work, this is a goal-oriented, organized process that meets people where they are and focuses on what they need to work on.

The process of IEPs in our school system mandates certain steps and goals to be set. When implemented and written correctly, they are powerful, and meaningful, and exist to serve the students. After working 5 years as a special education teacher, consulting teachers, and developing a math resource room curriculum, I am confident this program will take the best parts of transition IEPs and allow them to be applied in a unique small group setting. The flexibility of this new program growth means that parents, students, and stakeholders all have far more input on what this process looks like, and what it will need to adapt from our original vision.

If you are in the area, please share support, and definitely visit once we are open! If you are not local, please still join us in prayer, funding, and referrals. It is going to take a village, but I am so very excited about this adventure!

Much love,

Olivia Sanders

State Certifications:

Special Education: LD (K-12)

Secondary Mathematics

Education:

Bachelors of Science in Education & Special Education (Spring Arbor University)

Masters in Educational Technology

Masters in Educational Leadership (30/39 Credits)

Experience:

Student Assistant to the Executive Vice President (SAU, Advancement ‘16-’18)

Carriage Town Ministries Summer Program Intern (‘17)

Carriage Town Ministries Summer Program Lead (‘19)

Swartz Creek High School Special Education Teacher -Math Resource & Caseload Consulting (‘18-’23)

Awards

Education 2.0 Conference Visionary Award 2023