Special education students get real business experience

Store to sell gear for clubs, classes

Special education students in the Life Skills class at Mars Area High School are getting some real-world experience, thanks to the Mars Planet Foundation.

The foundation provided seed money to start a student store, which sells Mars Area merchandise and basic school supplies, said William Pettigrew, the school board representative to the foundation board of directors.

“It is an excellent business plan,” he said.

The items are available in a spare classroom and from a cart that students wheel into study halls, high school principal Lindsay Rosswog told board members last week.

“They have gone through a pretty official process” to determine who works in the store, including holding interviews for the jobs, she said.

The students also partner with other classes and clubs to make some of the gear they sell at the store, such as silk-screened Tshirts and bags.

“It supplements the skills they are learning in the classroom,” Mrs. Rosswog said.

“It is allowing them to see what it is like having a job and preparing them for that.”

They also worked with the broadcast media class to make a commercial with the Life Skills students modeling the gear and clothing.

“It started small but is gaining momentum,” Mrs. Rosswog said.

Ten special education students, under the supervision of special education teacher Samantha Flanhofer, are involved in the venture, and another 50 students have helped from other classes.

In a meeting this week, the board approved a calendar for the 2017-18 school year.

The board chose the option favored by superintendent Wes Shipley.

School will begin Aug. 24 and end May 31 if there aren’t snow days. Snow days will be made up June 1-7, and graduation will be June 7, 2018.

Students will be off from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2 for Christmas. Spring break is March 29 through April 2.