Chip Rowan

Chip Rowan is a special education teacher at Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Alabama, and works closely with the public library. Mr. Rowan teaches students with significant cognitive disabilities who are on Alabama’s Alternate Pathway to graduation.

Mr. Rowan founded Beautiful Rainbow Cafe in 2016 as a work-based learning transition training program for the students at Gadsden City High School. Beautiful Rainbow Cafe is a restaurant completely staffed by the students with special needs. The cafe serves local farm-to-table food to the public each day and all of the jobs in the cafe are performed by significantly disabled young people. The students are paid wages and receive high school co-op credit for their work.

Students engage with the sensory garden through horticultural lessons, cooking classes and other interactive experiences.