Wellington Students Launch Business, Learn Financial Literacy Through School Programs
WELLINGTON, Kan. — Wellington Public Schools students are gaining real-world experience through new business ventures and financial literacy programs aimed at preparing them for life after graduation.
Eighth-grade students in the Career and Life Planning class at the middle school are launching The Knight's Closet, a student-run spirit store that will design and produce custom shirts for middle school sports teams, organizations and events, according to a school district announcement.
The business venture began after students in Brigit Schwartz's class spent their eighth-grade year developing the concept. Working with VMS Business Education teacher Brigit Schwartz and her students, the Knight's Closet team will handle all operational aspects of the business, including taking orders, designing graphics, producing shirts and managing the store's logo and website.
The students are housed in Schwartz's classroom, where they will take orders and press shirts using heat transfer equipment. All profits will support the students' fundraising efforts.
Before the business officially launched, the student entrepreneurs presented personalized shirts to each USD 353 Board of Education member during an Oct. 24 meeting.
In a separate initiative, high school students across Sumner County participated in Reality U, a financial literacy program designed to demonstrate the importance of education on future earning potential.
The Oct. 27 event at the Wellington High School gym featured a 75-minute interactive simulation that guides students through real-world financial decisions. The program, which has served 275 students across every Sumner County high school this year, uses 24 community volunteers to help students understand how life choices affect their financial future.
Reality U creates individualized scenarios for each student based on their current GPA, expected monthly income, relationship status and family obligations. Students receive checkbook registers to track purchases from 12 booths representing various services and expenses, forcing them to make realistic financial choices about housing, transportation, food and other necessities.
Mrs. Wasless's Culinary Arts class provided lunch for the volunteers, and Impact Bank sponsored the event.
The district also received media attention in recent weeks when KWCH Channel 12 photojournalist Sophia Gernander visited Wellington Middle School to interview Principal Bob Meyer and Superintendent Adam Hatfield about a proposed school bond set for a November vote. The story included a tour of areas requiring maintenance work and interviews with eighth-grade Market Day participants about their entrepreneurial projects.