Purpose of Having a School Store


Why Have A School Store?

Convenience

• The supplies that students may need will be made available at the school store.

• If students forget a lunch, they can purchase food at our school store.

Job Experience

  • This is a true-to-life situation, incorporating teamwork, responsibilities, management, and tangible results using business, advertising, and accounting skills. Properly run, a profit can be made. Improperly run, a loss will occur.

  • A store run by the students and supervised by a teacher provides a wonderful learning opportunity promoting academics and social interaction.

  • Teachers can use the store as a workshop or as a simulation in connection with their classroom work. It can be used as a graded activity, it could be based on participation, completeness and accuracy of work, reflection worksheets, and a final paper.

  • Students are given practical experience in making change with real money.

  • Students are able to understand simple economics through hands-on activities.

  • Students learn about the ordering process.

  • Students understand the difference between wholesale and retail.

  • Students learn how to deal with people.

  • Positions can be created from manager down to sales clerks, so that students can see what is involved in operating their own business. One of the best ways for students to see how the different positions work is to rotate them within groups, giving each group to specific jobs. Some of these jobs are advertising, working in the store, inventory, banking duties, and financial analysis. Students not only learn the “ins and outs” of a business, but they also learn the responsibility and attributes of a successful employee. Students could be allowed to choose their own groups until such time as the groups become unproductive or have a serious problem within the group; such as, an inability to get along or continued absences.

Educational Opportunities:

Working at the Hawks Nest, students will learn:

  • about cost and profit

  • customer service skills

  • product knowledge

  • how to make change

  • how to balance and sort money in a cash drawer

  • how to check inventory and stock merchandise

  • about calculating sales tax

  • the importance of advertising

  • basic accounting skills

Profit

All profits made from the Hawks Nest will go back to the students in the form of new equipment for the life skills math department (Card reader/Banking software/etc.) AND… more importantly….the end of the year employee party for all our student employees.