Sixth graders in Mrs. Boice’s CTE class at Troy Middle School recently planned, designed, and build a variety of stores to fill a shopping center.
Over the past several weeks, sixth-graders in Ms. Boice’s Career & Technical Education (CTE) class at Troy Middle School have been working on a project to develop a collection of businesses to populate a shopping center.
Students were given a budget and planned their new building to determine how much flooring, furniture and other materials were needed and how much money was left over to purchase inventory for their business. To track their expenses, students received replica checks to fill out for each purchase and learned how to balance a checking account.
Aside from learning about the practical aspects of construction and business, they also practiced teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution – all skills essential to succeed both in and out of the classroom.
“I thought it was important for students to have an understanding of all the different occupations and roles expected in a job which requires everything from planning and designing to building and managing a business. The purpose was for students to experience many duties that are equally important while getting a more thorough understanding of their own interests and abilities,” said Boice.
Through the Questar III BOCES Business-Education Partnership service, students also watched pre-recorded interviews with professionals from various fields, including the building trades, who shared insights about their work, career pathways and suggestions for students to consider when developing their retail space, learned from several local companies about the building trades and their role in a project like the one in their classroom.
Thank you to our local partners who assisted our students with this project!
Chris White, Martin Electric
Peter McAnearney, Rich Bogardus and Melissa Clark, Carpenters Local 291/North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
Lynn Capirsello, Russell Sage College
Dash Crisner, Architecture +
