At North Miami Beach Senior High School, special needs students get more than an education — they get real job skills.

The school’s program, Friends in Training, or FIT, assigns each student a job at one of its on-campus stores: coffee shop, second-hand clothing store, greenhouse and beaded jewelry station.

They also work at the school’s main office and library

The goal is to make students with disabilities become more independent, said Veronica Martin, program’s teacher and founder.

“It’s not all about pencil and paper,” she said. “We can actually do a lot of other things.”

The 31 students enrolled in the program learn a wide variety of skills such as adding, subtracting, counting money and dealing with customers, added Martin.

Student Michaela Adler, 19, is now a pro at running the cafe, Martin said.

Every morning before classes start, Adler puts on her blue apron and kicks into action. She sets up her work station and makes sure everything is neatly arranged before customers arrive.

Once she is set, Adler greets everyone with a big smile eager to work.

She moved from managing the smaller cash register to managing the largest one — which means she has to memorize more register codes and deal with more products, explained Martin.

“They need to keep up with the inventory,” she said. “We go to Costco every week, we give them a shopping list, and they have to buy all the things that we sell.”

When her shift is over, Adler cleans and lines everything up for her next shift.

Osiris Ponce, a student in the program, manages the smaller register.

"Croissants and muffins for one [dollar]," said Ponce while showcasing the pastries.

"People are good," she said in Spanish ,referring to her customers at the café.

The 19-year-old sells pastries at the cafe and although she is in the process of learning English, Ponce has memorized the names of items and prices to do her job — and she does a good job, her teachers said.

Teachers evaluate students’ capabilities and interests to determine what job they are able to do.

Students work about three hours daily, Martin said.

FIT was initiated in 2004 by Martin and her co-worker, Zuzel Hernandez, with the help from local businesses.

In the beginning of the program, FIT students volunteered at the Starbucks in the Keystone Plaza in North Miami Beach in exchange of supplies for their program’s cafe.

Since then, the program has become self-sufficient, Martin said.

“Whatever they sell, we use the money to buy more supplies,” she said. “We are like a regular business.”

Martin said money left over is used for students’ activities such as parties and field trips.

Hands-on experience is helpful for students to land a job, but most importantly for their future, said Udyss Romano, program specialist.

“At one point, they’re not going to have the school’s support, and they may not have parents’ support,” Romano said. “They are going to have to have some viable skills — independent living skills.”

For Joyce Hachar, FIT was a confidence booster for her son with Down syndrome, Alex Hachar.

Hachar , 24, worked at the school’s greenhouse and library: “It made him become very organized,” she said. “He felt independent, and he felt like he was doing the same his brother was doing — having a job.”

Hachar graduated two years ago from Miami Beach Senior High when he was 22 — special needs students can attend the program from age 14 through 22.

Her son’s job situation reflects the program’s biggest challenge: getting students employed.

“We don’t have a lot of companies that will hire our special need population,” Martin said. “Now, you’ve taught the skills, but they have nowhere to show it off.”

Although Hachar hasn’t been able to find a job, he uses his work experience in the program to help his mother around.

“When we go to Publix, he picks out the groceries,” his mom said. “He puts the stamps on the mail, and keeps his movies organized in alphabetical order.”