Our bookstore is open once a week, Wednesday mornings before school starts. We are also open once a month during all lunch periods to reach students who arrive late to school. We have 29 5th grade employees who work on a rotating basis. Each month, an employee meeting is held during the studentís lunch period to pass out the monthly schedule and discuss any questions or happenings with the bookstore. The employees serve in a variety of jobs in the bookstore which include: cashier, stock clerk, book critic, and security guard. The book critics are in charge of writing short commercials to be shown on our school morning news program to advertise particular book titles and the bookstore itself.
Theresa Bastow, a literacy teacher at Beer Creek Elementary, captured the excitement of her grand opening on video. Kati describes her grand opening as ìawesomeî and emphasized her enthusiasm with the number of students browsing and purchasing books. Kati raised $1,000 in two weeks to further fund the bookstore. During their grand opening, the students who purchased a book got to wear a label that said, ìI bought a book for a buck!î The kids loved it, and the student workers were terrific. The bookstore, located in Florida, is run outside!
To view Katiís grand-opening video, click here
Tell us why you find this program has been so rewarding:
The Student-Run Bookstore has been a very rewarding experience because of the studentís reaction to every aspect of the operation. From the kindergarteners buying books with their parent to the 5th grade workers, the enthusiasm has been tremendous. Rarely does a day pass where a student doesnít approach me about the bookstore. Also, the teachers have noticed a difference in the studentís excitement about books. The students are excited to be able to pick out a book and actually keep it forever.
Tell us about a great interaction you had with a student employee or customer while in the bookstore.
A great customer interaction that I have had with a student is one third grade boy in particular. He is our first customer each week and buys on average 3 books per week. Then he carries the books around with him during the school day and tells anyone who will listen about the books he got this week at the bookstore. Each time I visit his classroom, he has the books laid out on his desk and has usually read at least two of them before noon the day of the bookstore, his enthusiasm is outstanding! A poster child for the bookstore! One of the security guards who works in the store has also done an outstanding job this year! He is a secluded fifth grader, who has a difficult time at home and school. The experience in the bookstore has brought him out of his shell. He is social with the customers, polite, and very thorough with his duties.
How does this fill a need in your school?
The need for books that the students can take home and keep is a high demand here at our school. Many of the students come from broken and poverty stricken homes. When I first thought about opening the bookstore I talked to some of the students about whether this was a good idea or not, they were very much in favor of buying books that they could indeed keep forever. The students take a lot of pride in purchasing their own books and we have had many students buy books as gifts as well. There is always a smile on their faces when they arrive Wednesday morning to shop in the bookstore.
What promotional activities do you conduct at your Student-Run Bookstore?
Up to this point the bookstore idea itself has promoted the bookstore! In the month of December, I plan to give a small holiday gift to each of the students who purchase books. One thing that we have done is that every student who purchases a book wears a sticker that day that says, ìI bought a book for a buck!î There have also been ìpublic service announcementsî on out school morning news to promote the bookstore on a weekly basis.
Describe the excitement that your bookstore has generated for students.
The students at Bear Creek are so excited about the bookstore! I am asked everyday about when it is and 5th graders ask me on a continuous basis when I will be hiring more employees! The students walk around very proudly with their books
tore stickers on store days and often show friends the books they have purchased that day! Even the parents have been coming to visit our store on Wednesdays to browse and purchase books with their children.
Any final thoughts on why someone should run a bookstore?
My final thoughts on running a bookstore is ìDO IT!î To see the students wanting to purchase books and show them off is a beautiful thing! It is worth the work to get it going, and once it is up and you have gotten into your own system, with reliable employees, the rest is easy. I canít think of a reason not to have this available for all students of any age.
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