Starting Your School Store:
Taking the First Step

Thinking about starting a school store? Great idea!

The school store can help schools introduce students to valuable business skills, all in a fun, comprehensible, and active learning environment. Students, particularly young ones, learn best by applying what they've learned in the classroom to real-world problems, then reinforcing it through repetition. The school store is a perfect vehicle for just this type of instruction.

One of the best aspects of the school store is they are infinitely flexible. School Stores offer an environment where early-elementary students can practice basic math and money skills, while high school students can learn and apply concepts like advertising and marketing or supply-and-demand economics. A school store can be adapted as your students increase in experience or grade level, teaching age-appropriate skills all the way through to graduation.

Why Operate a School Store?

Because it just makes sense. Here are 5 benefits that can come from starting a school store at your school:

1. What better place to sell school supplies than in school? Students who come to class unprepared can purchase needed supplies rather then borrowing them from other students or the teacher. Teachers who require a particular type of item can be sure that it will be available for the class to purchase.
2. It's never too early to start encouraging involvement. Working in the school helps students to get involved and have an interest in what is happening in their school.
3. Create a living classroom where students can learn to make change, take inventory, calculate tax, write a schedule, market a product and be responsible!
4. Kill two birds with one stone. Provide a service that everyone needs while raising money!
5. Take advantage of a captive audience—you would be selling something everyone needs anyway.

Who Can Operate a School Store?

Just about anyone can operate a school store? One reason it simply makes sense to do so is because of the versatility you can enjoy. Students of any age will benefit from the experience. Schools containing every range of ages have and do successfully operate school stores.