Hawkeye receives grant for educational program

North Winn students participate in Youth Marketplace

Director Dean Nierling, Coordinator Sara Christopher and Superintendent Tim Dugger along with junior high participants.

North Winn Schools are taking a creative approach to teach young students about the risks and rewards of self employment.

Junior High students have been actively involved with a program designed by the ISU Pappajohn Center called "Youth Marketplace" to help generate awareness and enthusiasm about entrepreneurship. Hawkeye REC applied for and received a grant for $1,000 to sponsor the Youth Marketplace program.

"Youth Marketplace" is an 8-12 week curriculum designed to be used with elementary or middle school students in a local school setting. It involves students, teachers, entrepreneurs and business people from the community.

Youth Marketplace is an exiting hands-on learning experience for students. Together, groups of students create, market and manage their own businesses. The curriculum is composed of four units that cover: entrepreneurship, business plans, financing and marketing/selling. The highlight of the program is a Youth Marketplace Event at which students display and sell their product creations.

"I learned that a number of businesses are not successful because they don't make a business plan," said Scotty Henricks a student at North Winn School. "The business plan is the basic guideline to the startup and the success of the business including a mission statement."

"The program will help us later in life to know what to do if we start our own business and we will have a better understanding of what is expected." said group members Natasha Ryan, Kasara Baxzler, Alicia Rilling and Rebecca Rinken.

By the end of the program, students will realize that entrepreneurs don't have to be adults. Entrepreneurship training creates a profitable reason for students to learn reading, writing, math and basic business skills. It also demonstrates the vital link between education and the real world. Sara Christopher was the teacher/coordinator at North Winn for this program.

Back to News