Middle schoolers become business owners in Create City
Middle schoolers become business owners in 'Create City'
Students at Dacula Middle School are getting a jump start on their entrepreneurial skills thanks to a unique project called ''Create City.'' The project challenges eighth-grade business students to dream up an idea, develop and market products, and sell them to their classmates.
DACULA, Ga. - Watching Taylor Jackson and Sarah Allen expertly blend decadent, ice-cold drinks, you'd never guess that the business-owning duo aren't even in high school yet.
Jackson and Allen are the founders of Luxury Sips, a boutique drink stand specializing in four flavors of slushies, strawberry refreshers, and frappés.
"We came up with the name because we knew we wanted to sell multiple drink products, so we decided on three things that we knew people would love and are fan favorites," says Allen, an eighth grader at Dacula Middle School.
Luxury Sips is part of the school's Create City, a program for eighth grade business students. Over the past year, students were tasked with coming up with viable business plans, mastering every step from product creation to market research to securing business licenses. Then, for three weeks, the students actually open and operate their shops in a kind of eclectic marketplace at the school.
Business education teacher Chenita Mumpfield says the goal of Create City is right there in the name.
"Using their own creativity; that's exactly what I strive for," says Mumpfield. "Being very creative in what you love, and what nobody else could even care less about."
For business student Nathan Ranel, that love is wings; his business, Slanging Wings, is proving a delicious hit with diners.
"When you look around, nobody else is really doing it," says Ranel. "So, we don't really have competition. The competition is us!"
And with every wing sold, Ranel's business knowledge is soaring — appropriate for a school whose mascot is a Falcon.
"Our students are R.E.A.L. Falcons," says principal Kimberly Bussey. "We call them Respectful, Engaged, Accountable Leaders. And seeing the level of engagement in this particular lesson, this particular project, is phenomenal."
The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta stopped by Dacula Middle School to check out Create City, chatting with students and administrators about the unique program.