Clintondale Dragons Mean Business

Among its CTE offerings, Clintondale High School offers multiple courses in business and marketing. These include the introductory classes such as `Sports and Entertainment Marketing’ and `Young Entrepreneurs’ as well as advanced handson courses in management, retail marketing and graphic productions.

Ms. Spriggs, who is described as an off-the-book teacher with a creative approach to instruction, encourages her students to experience real-world marketing situations and develop marketable skills along with a sense of passion and creativity. She says she hopes that this will help students in the future by giving them an understanding of how marketing works in the real world.

The marketing classes break the process down into several parts — distribution, promotion, production and service development, management, pricing, selling, market research, customer service and information management. Students learn about these elements and how to use them in their classes and while working at the Hot Spot, Clintondale’s student run store. Helping Kim Spriggs, Clintondale marketing teacher, with this are her student man agers, senior Jamia Yancey and juniors Justyn Myers, Shantrice Moore and Zania Calhoun all of whom apply their marketing knowledge and experience to both the day-to-day operations of the school store and behind-the-scenes tasks like scheduling, inventory, and money management. In addition to their hard work running

Helping students explore their passions in business has recently led to the addition of the graphics production class where students are learning about customized merchandise.

the school store, students also take time out to plan large events for the school and community.

Helping students explore their passions in business has recently led to the addition of the graphics production class where students are learning about customized merchandise. From conception to completion students are meeting with customers to help them develop ideas and then using silk screen printing and vinyl transfers to bring their visions to life. When talking to sophomore Davon Ciesiolka about the class he said, “I love seeing my designs while walking through the hallways and community and I get to work handson with professional equipment.”

Ms. Spriggs says that her favorite part of teaching marketing is seeing how it empowers students, evokes their creativity and leadership skills and when they take charge and get to turn their visions into reality. Watching her students in action in the store and in the classroom, it’s clear that they agree.