Student
Initiated Business Endeavors
The Upper Elementary and Middle School students own and operate
their own small businesses. Lessons involving real life experiences and
particularly those that relate to money management are some of the most
powerful, meaningful and unforgettable experiences for these students. They
learn to calculate gross sales, cost of sales, and net income. They apply for loans, calculate interest and
write business proposals. The students gain skills, knowledge and experience in
marketing, public relations, promotion, record keeping, problem solving,
committee work, accountability, presentation and mathematics. They learn how to
write checks, make cash deposits and withdrawals.
The children are encouraged to generate their own money-making
ventures and the teachers look to include ideas that may come spontaneously
from the students. Their ideas may be service or product oriented. Past and
present products and services have included car washes, lemonade stands,
T-shirt sales, craft sales, a farmer’s market, baked goods, book sales, hand
made soap sales, and hot lunch sales. The bulk of the proceeds from these ventures support the
classes’ off island field trips. In addition, each year the students choose to
donate money to those in need.