New student-led initiative takes off, results in enhanced learning
By Jacqueline Pionek
Kewaunee CTE Department Lead
In the spring of 2022, a proposal was made to start a student ran school store located in house.
The school store would be leveraged to offer high school students the opportunity to gain real world experiences.
Twelve students within the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department were approached with the option to take a class centered around the store foundation and operational practices.
Most of those approached were scheduled to take the full-year long class starting in the fall of 2022.
During that summer, eight students along with the STORM Store advisors — Suzanne Koss, Jackie Pionek and Randy Charles — began brainstorming and the initial planning of the school store.
Students visited local school districts with successful school stores, to learn the procedures of starting and maintaining a school store.
A number of physical infrastructure enhancements and modifications were made to the store space, including new fixtures and furnishings for the store.
The district covered the cost of the initial updates made.
However, additional financial support was needed to purchase additional fixtures and a beginning inventory.
The Build the Future Foundation graciously donated $6,500 to purchase materials for a display case, checkout counter, mannequins, display tables and merchandise to start the store.
In time, the students skill sets were used to design and create product using machinery in the respective wood and metal shops and with the embroidery and Cricut machine.
On Nov. 15, 2022 the STORM Store officially opened to the public.
Throughout the remainder of the school year, the store opened during the day, during STORM Time and the STORM Store class period, as well as during home sporting events.
The STORM Store became increasingly popular with the number of items made in house by students.
With the transition from winter to spring sports, students recognized the need of a mobile STORM Store.
In order to remain profitable, there was a need to make merchandise accessible to customers.
While funds weren’t readily available to use, students utilized the Kewaunee FFA enclosed trailer to offer a mobile store to their patrons.
In the meantime, students began brainstorming and designing a future mobile STORM Store.
With each design, students developed a list of materials needed to construct the store on wheels.
Students in Casey Mumper’s Metals and Advanced Metals class have taken the lead on the construction of the mobile STORM Store.
Students are applying skills learned in the class to fabricate and weld a foundation for the mobile store.
The mobile STORM Store is scheduled to be finished for the start of the 2024 spring sport season.
The STORM Store continues to thrive during its second year open.
Students in Mariah Vandertie’s STORM Store class work collaboratively to create new spirit wear designs, implement new marketing strategies and apply skill sets to produce merchandise for the store.
The STORM Store has made a significant impact on hands-on, applicable learning in the Career and Technical Education department.