By Aaron Vehling

Ree Knabe, a junior at Rush City High School, has spent much of her marketing class shopping for soda and snacks.

ìIím on the Internet all the time,î she said.

While some teachers may frown on their students browsing the Internet for the duration of class, teacher Mike Saari welcomes it.
After all, Knabe is browsing for a reason - itís her job. Sheís the inventory manager of Rush City High Schoolís first school store, aptly named the Tigers Den.

The new store is home to students who exhibit a keen interest in the entrepreneurial field, in dealing with the public and in the successful operation of a business.

The students are currently selling their goods from their classroom, as they do not have a permanent store built yet. They are in the process of building a kiosk that they will use until they secure a permanent location.

Fifteen students in Saariís class worked in the beginning of the school year developing a business plan that they would eventually present, in PowerPoint, to the school board at a November meeting.

The plan, which Saari said is modeled after those in the field of business, showcases the studentsí goals for the store: more student involvement, more team spirit, raising of money for school activities, becoming more informed about businesses and how they operate.

In the plan, the students indicate that once the store is completely operable they will sell school supplies, Tiger apparel, soda and snacks, among other things. Currently they have sold scarves and homecoming buttons.

Senior Holly Grimes helped out with some of the business plan. She said she likes working on the store because it is a good introduction to being an entrepreneur.

ìIt helps me learn about the business field,î she said.

Senior Megan Kaelbli worked on advertisements for the store using a variety of computer programs, including Adobe Photoshop.
Kaelbli said she is proud of the fact that she is part of a group of students pioneering the store.

ìItís cool,î she said. ìIt (the class) helps us create something that no one ever has.î

In addition to business experience, one student said he likes the prospect of working with the public.
Junior Brandon Turner, one of the three juniors in the class, said he enjoys ìthe people aspectî of the store.

Turner helped work on the employee policy portion of the business plan, which calls for equality and denounces any form of discrimination, including acts against race, sexual orientation and gender.

As can happen with a group of people with different personalities, there were a few arguments.
Senior Brittany Wendorf said that there were some major issues that created conflict: the name and location of the store and how to approach writing the business plan.

The arguments did not hinder the group. Wendorf said she and her classmates learned a valuable lesson.

ìWe learned to compromise,î she said, adding that their ability to compromise gave way to a power structure favorable to everyone in the class.

ìWe decided to all take the role of leaders at certain times,î she said.

Saari agreed with Wendorf.

ìThe class learned to work together,î he said.

The business plan calls for the store to be student-run with the supervision of Saari.
No stranger to the school store scene, Saari helped set up school stores at Buffalo (Minn.) High School and Cambridge ALC.
He said that the school store is a ìgood learning experience for the kids.î

ìItís a hands-on, real-life simulation of how to run a business,î he said.

He said that the idea behind the store is not to compete with vendors inside the school or in the community.

ìThe goal is to work with everybody,î he said.

The likely home for the store will be in the commons area, near the giant tiger mural, but the group has to make a formal proposal for the space. Saari anticipates that they will finalize a location by the end of January.

The twelve current seniors said they hope their successors will carry on the tradition that they helped build and that the store will remain open for many years to come.

Kaelbli, one of those seniors, said she hopes that future students can keep the store afloat.

ìI hope that they can make a profit and have fun with it.î

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