Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for January 21, 2008 REALITY CLASS

New classes may give students real-world business experience

By Adam Testa, The Southern

MURPHYSBORO - Students at Murphysboro High School may have the opportunity to build a business from the ground up starting in the fall.

The Murphysboro Community Unit District 186 board voted Tuesday to allow Superintendent Chris Grode to research lease agreements for properties along Walnut Street. The plan would be for students to open, manage and market a school store at the location.

Students enrolling in the new general marketing and business entrepreneurship classes would operate the store as they learned how to create business plans and secure loans from banks, Grode said. He hopes to find a storefront that's usable but not perfect, suggesting the one used by the school's Key Club during its Christmas project.

"Going into a pristine property and having everything set up is not the real world," he said.

Ryan Berry, business teacher and Future Business Leaders of America sponsor, would teach the classes and oversee operations of the store. The opportunity would provide students basic knowledge and guidelines for opening their own business, he said.

Details of the class curriculum and the store still need to be worked out and current emphasis is being placed on building student interest and ensuring there will be high enough enrollment to warrant the classes, Berry said.

The plan for the store includes selling Murphysboro Red Devils and Blue Devils merchandise, as well as projects completed in other classes, Grode said. The school's mass production class already creates Adirondack chairs that could be sold at the store.

Mayor Ron Williams said the store would be a great addition to the downtown area of the city and be "great for the kids, great for the city."

"It would fill a building on Walnut Street and you'd be giving high school students the opportunity to learn what it's like to work in the real world," he said.