Clearview Elementary students have a new place to shop – the newly re-opened school store run by their student council.

 

Clearview had outgrown their old store, so the student council took the opportunity to help design the new one the way they envisioned it, including a glass front so students could see all the items for sale.

 

The store carries both school supplies and fun items for purchase, which range from 25 cents to $1. Student council members inventory Clearview’s classrooms to help decide what to offer.

 

Teacher and Student Council Advisor Andrea Coulter oversees the store with help from ADSIS (Alternate Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services) Teacher Nicole Gerdes and Student Teacher Brenna Siltala, however the student council handles most of the enterprise.

 

The store is tied in with Junior Achievement and teaches kids how to set up and run a business. Student council members serve as cashiers and count and deposit money, keeping a running ledger. They decide what merchandise to offer and place the orders while practicing their phone etiquette.

 

The purpose of the store isn’t to make money, it’s to create lifelong learners, teach children the value of money, and highlight the importance of giving back to the community.

 

Forty percent of the money earned goes back to the school community in ways that touch all students, such as this fall when the student council purchased supplies for the classroom safety buckets. 

 

Forty percent goes to veterans to help pay for things like the recent Veteran’s Day program held at Clearview. Five percent is used for the end of the year student council celebration, and the rest is start up money for the following year.

 

Students can purchase items from the store with their own money, Cody Cash, or incentive coupons that many teachers purchase from the store to use in their classrooms.

 

Clearview’s school store is open Friday mornings from 7:10 to 7:40. The grand reopening was November 11.