Cafe in the classroom warms the hearts of a teacher and her students

Nate Clark, a bespectacled 11-year-old, cleared his throat and fixed his gaze on his teacher, Lisa Warrington, who stood in front of a semicircle of desks in the middle of her classroom.

"I'd like to say a huge thank you to Mrs. Warrington," Nate said. "Without her, this restaurant wouldn't even be here, and the donation wouldn't be here."

The "restaurant" is a cart of goodies that the 10 students in Warrington's special-education class have pushed through the halls of Wedgwood Elementary School in Sewell since February.

The students, who are in third through fifth grade, prepare and sell their snacks - including no-bake cheesecake, trail mix, and fruit salad - to teachers and staff every few weeks. The class has decided to donate the profits - more than $200 so far - to the Children's Tumor Foundation.

The foundation is close to Nate's heart. He has neurofibromatosis, a nerve disorder that causes tumors.

"I want to help kids like me, who have worse tumors than me," said Nate, noting that his three brain tumors are noncancerous. He said he hopes to see the money raised go toward research and alleviating families' medical expenses.

Nate also wants to sell homemade ribbons - he has a whole box of the creations at his house - to raise more money for the foundation, and to someday become a neurofibromatosis scientist.

"It makes me feel good because it's helping people," classmate Jason Mansell, 11, said of the class project, which the students call "Wedgwood Cafe."

The students thought of the idea in January, when they were asked to create a restaurant on paper as part of a Junior Achievement Day challenge.

But the students wanted to do more. They asked Warrington whether they could actually create this restaurant at the elementary school.

"I said, 'Why not?' " Warrington recalled. The first-year Wedgwood teacher went to principal Michael Landon for approval.

"What I find interesting is that it came from within," Landon said. "I give credit to Mrs. Warrington. . . . She didn't just take a kid's request and ignore it."

The class hit a few road bumps along the way as they brainstormed ideas for their rotating menu.

Nate suggested a "berry supreme salad," a mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. But all those expensive berries "would crash our market," Nate said.

The class opted for an affordable fruit salad, which students said has been their most popular item. They prepare their creations together at the school.

The students said managing "Wedgwood Cafe" has helped them with math by teaching them how to make change, calculate fractions, and determine the costs and profit of a business.

In preparing the food, Persephanie Nevius, 8, said she learned the importance of hand-washing and checking how much of an ingredient is required for a recipe.

"We learned it took a lot of teamwork to do this, and it was harder than we thought it would be," said Gabe Hicks, 10.

Warrington said she has been working in special education for 17 years.

She graduated college with a culinary arts degree, but went back to school to get a dual degree in elementary and special education from St. Joseph's University in 2013. She said she has always had a love for special education, spending years as a classroom assistant before getting her degree.

"This classroom is like my dream classroom to teach. It's challenging but rewarding," Warrington said of her class. "I don't want people to underestimate them."

Andrew Ahart, 11, raised his hand to speak about Warrington, but was too shy to share his thoughts out loud. Instead, he whispered them to classroom assistant Kim Tyler.

"Andrew said he loves you," Tyler told Warrington.

The sentiment, like many others her students shared Thursday morning, made Warrington choke up. Her students laughed, asking whether it was pollen from the trees making her eyes well up.

Warrington hurried over to hug Andrew.

"I love you all," she told the class.

It seemed as if the students already knew.