Students Learn Valuable Skills Through In-Class Store
Students Learn Valuable Skills Through In-Class Store
There’s a bustling store inside Dr. Kat Bode’s Adult Continuing Education Services (ACES) classroom at Jefferson Learning Center.
In one corner, a 3-D printer whirs as it assembles a schematic, and at a table, students carefully cut out a design to be heat pressed onto a bag. Over by the teacher’s desk, another student pulls a Halloween-themed coffee mug from a mug press with Dr. Bode’s help and places it on a rack next to a price label and the store’s name: Colorful Mindz Creations.
“Our classroom staff and students sat down and brainstormed the name,” Dr. Bode said. “We have a lot of abilities and plenty of creativity here, so that’s where it comes from.”
The ACES program at Jefferson provides transition services to Sherman ISD students 18 to 21 years old who have unique educational needs. One of its focuses is to provide work-based learning with hands-on experience.
“The students have finished high school but don’t yet have the skills they might need for a job,” Dr. Bode said. “This workplace learning program gives them an opportunity to learn the vocational skills they need.”
The idea for Colorful Mindz Creations came along last school year, and through grants, Dr. Bode purchased a 3D printer, a small cutting machine and a heat press to create store stock, which includes T-shirts, bags, 3D-printed fidgets, and much more.
More recently, she received a $10,000 grant from Texas A&M University to support the program, and with the funds, Dr. Bode bought supplies and a Direct-to-Film (DtF) transfer printer, which offers clearer, brighter prints.
“We practiced running the store last year and made a few things for some retirees, but I want this to be self-sustaining,” Dr. Bode said. “I would like to open it up more, like putting flyers up around campuses or taking some items to craft fairs.”
Colorful Mindz also gives students a safe place to make a mistake and find out what they’re best at. One student liked managing the 3D printer and its items, while another enjoyed the creative process.
“It’s pretty awesome,” the second student said. “We’re making shirts, making bags, making 3D items, and we’re making them perfect for the people who want them.”
“They have a protected environment where they can learn at their own pace,” Dr. Bode said. “This is an opportunity to try a bunch of new things and see how they manage it, and that helps direct them down a path where they can do something meaningful.”
People can contact and donate to Colorful Mindz through MySchoolBucks.