Over the past few years Jenison High School has gone through a lot of change. We got new air conditioning, new bathrooms and construction projects around the school. Yet, I am not only talking about the building. There has been a lot of change in how the school runs day to day. Many of us know that the pandemic has been the main source of that change. As a senior at Jenison, I have seen the before and the current ways of operation. Before the spring of 2020 the school building was completely open and running as normal. The Green Bean and Cats’ Corner were open for students for most of the school day. Every day before school there was a big line and students sitting and enjoying the Green Bean.

Coming back to school in the fall the Green Bean had shut down. The school decided it was not safe to have students going to the cafe before school or during class periods. The business program did not want the cafe to shut down. Students would miss out on the experience of working in the green bean, so they made a plan. A couple of months into the school year the Green Bean started doing classroom delivery.

Students

Classroom delivery allowed the cafe to stay open and serve students. But some people are not the biggest fan of the news system. Yet, many students like how easy it is to have the Green Bean workers deliver to their class. They can order whatever they want without leaving their seat. Arieana, a senior at Jenison says that it “gives more students the freedom to order.” Going down to the library can take up a lot of class time. The new system provides students with more work time.

Last year you could always hear the drink cart rolling through the hallways. This year most of the student body is familiar with the process of ordering. Alyssa Sumption says that they get “fifteen to twenty-five” orders in a class period. The Green Bean also has “busy days” on Thursday and Friday when they get more orders. Students seem to appreciate delivery, but some students miss getting out of class.

Staff

The students that run the green bean have a different perspective. They have their opinions on classroom delivery. The marketing class has groups of students that alternate running the Green Bean. Now that they need people to deliver drinks, they have less people making drinks. This means that they cannot make as many drinks. 

The Green Bean staff has noticed some issues with classroom delivery. Alyssa says that “some students don’t give their classroom number.” This means that they have to spend time tracking down the student. Conflict with teachers is another reason that delivering orders is hard. Brooklynn thinks, “It is awkward to deliver drinks because sometimes teachers don’t want drinks delivered.”

Teachers

The Jenison staff members have wavering opinions about the Green Bean. It is a big change from sending students down to the library to having drinks delivered. Teachers had more control over interruptions when they had to send students down. Now students can order before class and interrupt a lesson or activity.

Students have to make sure that deliveries do not interrupt the lesson. The main problem is miscommunication between the students and teachers. Teachers like classroom delivery when they give students permission.

Is it better?

The Green Bean has been through a lot of change, and they have handled the change very well. The cafe has made a comeback after the shutdown and is doing very well. No matter any downfalls right now the system is working. As the pandemic comes to an end, they can open up and run smoother. We must appreciate what we have now and understand the process behind it.