Grant helps students explore business

When AT&T began divvying up $12 million in competitive High School Success grants aimed at student retention and work force preparedness, $35,000 was earmarked for Spokane.

Tincan, a local nonprofit that uses interactive media and technology to further education and community development, received the $35,000 grant to fund a trial program at Rogers High School.

The e-commerce project focuses on ninth-grade boys identified as a high dropout risk. Students will meet twice weekly after school to identify a business they are interested in and that benefits the community.

Paired with a business mentor, they will develop their own business plan, learn what kind of education is needed to handle the business, and explore issues such as financial management and insurance. They will also produce a short video about their mentor’s business.

“The school is recommending students to us right now,” said Karen L. Michaelson, Ph.D., executive director of Tincan. “We are hoping to have 10 students. It is a very intensive program; it is a test of a concept we’ve been developing.”

Tincan has had another successful e-commerce program at Rogers for students below grade level, and there is also a longstanding working relationship between the school and Tincan’s teen news broadcasts, eMerge News.

Retention of students who may otherwise drop out is the focus of the new e-commerce program.

“These are kids that aren’t gung-ho about anything education, so it’ll take some time before we know if this model works,” Michaelson said. “We are doing very heavy evaluation throughout the program: Does it change their focus on education? Does it change how well they stay on task?”

There is a chance of incorporating other high schools in the future, but Michaelson said that for now Tincan wants to see how the program works out.

“If it turns out to be as successful as we hope, then AT&T has other grants available that are larger,” Michaelson said. “And after testing it, we’ll have some good results to show other funding sources.”

The original idea behind the e-commerce program for at-risk teens was developed by Tincan years ago, Michaelson said. The trial program will run through the end of this school year and continue over summer with eighth-graders entering Rogers. Everything the students produce will be posted online.

“We had some new ideas that would strengthen the program in terms of keeping kids from dropping out,” she added. “We tried to make it more attractive to kids who feel like they are already behind and that it doesn’t matter what they do. This time we do more with video – that’s something kids really love to do.”