Photography Credit: Creative Technology Corp

While recently attending a workshop on starting or growing your school-based enterprise at the school district of Eleva-Strum in Wisconsin I discovered that they have great model for their student-run business. Their program, Cardinal Manufacturing teaches soft skills and employability skills along with learning the technology. The soft skills that they teach in the program are as follows:

Be Positive

Show Up

Work Hard

Get Along

Pay it Forward

Be Flexible

Figure it Out

Join the Club

No Whining

Keep Learning

Craig Cegielski is one of the technical education teachers at Eleva-Strum High School. He says it is key to have high expectations for the students in the program. The following is the teaching model for the student-run business that is used by the school.

1.     Talk to Them, Help Them, and Guide Them

2.     Employability Skills and Professionalism

3.     Believe in Them

4.     Real and Relevant, Which Causes Engagement

5.     Delegation

6.     Teacher Doesn’t Need to Be the Expert

7.     Students Forced to Problem Solve

8.     They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

9.     Confidence and Communication Increase

10.  Self-Teaching, Higher Learning

11.  High Expectations

12.  Career Planning

13.  Job Shadow and Part Time Jobs

14.  Scholarships

15.  Financial Planning

16.  Retirement Planning

Cardinal Manufacturing is always growing and expanding its program. Their local vision is to expand and upgrade their current facilities while adding new equipment and personnel. They are expanding capabilities and the number of students in the program is growing. Their national vision is to promote, share, and implement their successful program nationwide to assist a multitude of school districts in starting a student-run business.