Students take pride in operating store
Teacher says valuable skills are being learned
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Howell Middle School South student Anthony Sardina, 11, and teacher's assistant Mimi Ryan get the Husky school store ready for business on Nov. 3.

In less than 30 minutes, the stuffed animals at the Howell Middle School South Husky school store were nearly sold out. Credit a few students moonlighting as excellent salespeople for the brisk business.

The school store is run and maintained by the sixth-, seventh-and eighth-grade special education Language and Learning Disabled (LLD) classes. It has remained that way for seven years.

Lisa Dunn, a special education teacher, heads up the effort.

"About eight years ago I had the idea that we needed to create more real-life experiences," Dunn said. "The PTO provided some school-related theme items, and from that we slowly started to build. We saw how the kids reacted to it, and we saw a lot of positive changes. In every way, we try to get them involved. We started very simple."

The school store is usually open on Friday during lunch periods and students pore over the tables, scouting the merchandise.

Dunn said the pupils who operate the store learn real-world skills that involve math, money and social interaction. They also advertise sales, order and sell products, create displays and shop for items.

The school store program was honored by the New Jersey School Boards Association two years ago for its excellence.

Dunn said the initiative serves as a building block for the student workers. Sixth-graders learn the ropes of running a business and can eventually work their way up to become a manager. The experience prepares them for future employment, Dunn said.

"By the time they are in eighth grade, they have had a lot of help and they are into the ordering and purchasing of products," the teacher added.

Principal Thomas Feaster said the students' progress is invaluable.

"I think it's great not only for the educational value, but from managing inventories and handling money," Feaster said. "As the students get older, they take on different roles and they get a lot of experience. It's great for self-esteem. It's a tremendous experience, and they enjoy doing it, especially when other students are here buying things."

Feaster is a customer as well as a booster of the school store.

"Especially if they do a really good job of selling it to me," he said before purchasing what looked to be a paper clip holder.

Dunn said the store serves as a vehicle for other groups in the school as well. In the past, the store has sold treats that were made by students in the Family and Consumer Science class. In true business fashion, the Husky school store operators negotiated a 10-percent commission for their store.

Since most of the items in the school store are sold for $2 or less, Dunn said the store makes a very modest profit. Nonetheless, "business gets pretty brisk," she said.

Dunn said most of the profit goes right back into the store so that new items can be purchased. However, the store's operators have donated money to local programs like tree plantings, which helps to create a sense of civic duty among the young entrepreneurs.

Dunn takes the eighth-graders on field trips so they can purchase additional items that will be sold in the school store.

"It's very motivating for them," she said as another line of middle school pupils filled the Husky school store with cash in hand.