Burke Middle College teacher brings sense of community to the classroom with Gratitude Café

Coffee and music bring people together. At Burke Middle College, Tim Barnsback has transformed the back wall of his classroom into a cozy coffee lounge, blending education with relaxation.

With a $1,000 grant from DonorsChoose, Barnsback has created a space that feels more like a coffee shop than a traditional classroom, complete with ambient lighting, a record player, and an espresso machine.

Barnsback’s classroom looks, feels, and smells like a coffee shop.

“The environment really relaxes them, it puts them in a familiar space, rather than having to come and sit under fluorescent lights in a hard chair. I think environment is pretty critical to how we feel,” Barnsback said.

Barnsback began teaching at Burke Middle College in 2019. He’s a personal finance teacher at Burke Middle College and a master teacher for the NC Council of Economic Education (NCCEE).

“I fell in love with this subject because if someone would have taught me, I think it would have helped me make better decisions,” he started, “and that step towards ending generational poverty would have helped tremendously. My focus with my students is removing the financial stress from them, giving them financial literacy.”

He holds his coffee mug close to his chest symbolic of the special place the mug holds in his heart.

“It’s always been a big joke with me because I always have a coffee cup with me and I’m always listening to music,” Barnsback said.

Often described by his students as always toting around his coffee mug, the embellished rainbow mug has sentimental value to him. Barnsback says he found the mug in his grandfather’s work shed shortly after he died with just a little bit of coffee left in it.

Barnsback believes that perhaps the mug held the last cup of coffee his grandfather drank.

“It doesn’t matter what your demographic is. Coffee brings people together. Coffee and music are connectors,” Barnsback said.

Barnsback describes Burke Middle College as an intense academic environment. While East Burke High School and Patton High have coffee shops on campus, Barnsback has brought the idea to the classroom.

Burke Middle College is a dual high school/college enrollment school that allows students to take high school classes and earn college credits simultaneously.

Students have a slightly heavier course load, combining BCPS classes and WPCC classes allowing them to graduate in two years with a high school diploma and associate degree. 133 juniors and seniors occupy the halls of Burke Middle College located on WPCC’s campus.

Coined Gratitude Café, inspired by Jason Mraz, Barnsback views his classroom as a place to decompress.

“We really focus a lot on making sure our student’s mental health is addressed, meeting them in a place where they feel safe and supported,” Barnsback said.

Barnsback’s mental health initiative earned him a grant from DonorsChoose. Barnsback says he heard about the grant from his neighboring teacher, Cheryl Wheeler, who had recently applied for a grant from the nonprofit. DonorsChoose is a classroom funding website for teachers.

With the grant, Barnsback has a stocked lounge with ambient lighting, aromatherapy, plants, a record player, espresso machine, Keurig, and all the fixings to give his classroom a calm coffee shop feel.

All products in the lounge meet child nutrition guidelines, provided at no-cost to students.

“It gives them a common space and shows education doesn’t have to be stressful,” Barnsback said. “The fact that this is in their classroom and having it in the space shows that you can learn and it doesn’t have to be a stressful place for you.”

Students are only permitted into the lounge during non-instructional hours. According to Barnsback, students will come in before or after class. In the lounge, Barnsback says the students enjoy music on the record player with various albums and a music journal where students can write about song recommendations and music that inspires them.

His approach aims to alleviate student stress and foster a supportive environment making financial literacy and academic achievement less daunting for students.

Barnsback believes the lounge also encourages peer-to-peer interaction and support.

“It creates organic conversations and the students provide each other with solution-based skills,” Barnsback said.

Barnsbsack expresses that breaking the stigma of mental health care is critical for students to have long-term balance and success. He says, “Self-care is not selfish ... We must be the best version of who we are in order to share our talents and energy with those who need it the most.”

To donate toward supplies for Gratitude Café, visit Barnsback’s DonorsChoose page with the QR code.