Graham School students present business ideas in Career and Financial Management class

Students stood before their classmates and a panel of staff during Caterina DiPaola’s Career and Financial Management class to present their business ideas on Thursday, October 17, 2024. These presentations were a part of their Shark Tank Jr. projects, based on the television show, and staff served as the “sharks.” 

Career and Financial Management, a Career and Technical Education course, is available to middle school students throughout the District. Students learn about money management, starting a business and different careers during the class.

“What I was hoping is that all the subjects that they are learning in school – world languages, technology, math, science, English language arts – came back into the classroom and that they are able to see that they are going to be applying them throughout their professional career," said Ms. DiPaola. "When I was coming up with this project I was thinking of (Acting Superintendent) Dr. K. Veronica Smith’s quote, ‘Back to Basics, Forward to Mastery’, so that was my concept for this project. I’m very proud of all my kids here at Graham School because they are literally trying 100%.”

Students developed pitches for their business and created websites to showcase their plans. They developed businesses that were related to their interests; these included fashion and beauty stores, acting and art classes, brain-enhancing computer chips, and a bookstore. The sharks asked them questions after they finished explaining their ideas and gave them feedback. 

“Career and Financial Management is a springboard into a young person’s understanding of their financial and career futures,” said Director of CTE Brian Simmons, one of the sharks. “These two areas are the most important aspects to a person’s lifelong happiness. By having CFM in the middle schools, it is preparing students at an early age to be ready for the real world.”

Annabella Mejia, a seventh-grade student at Graham, learned how to make a website in the class for the first time, something she has wanted to learn so she can make a beauty store. She developed her beauty store for the project. Students also needed to write for their websites and presentations, and Annabella felt like it helped improve her grammar.

“What I took away from this is how advanced technology really is,” said Kaltrina Kastrati, seventh-grade student at Graham. “For the website making, all you had to do was answer a couple questions and the software did most of the work for me. This taught me, and could teach other kids, that it's never too late to go for your dreams.”

One student, Lily Muray, created a bookstore for her project and actually inspired her mother to start a book club. Another student, who created a brain chip company, considered factors such as the Food and Drug Administration and other ethical considerations.

Students will continue their projects by learning how to use checkbooks and how to balance them. They will also learn about assets and liabilities within a company as well as the taxes that they need to pay. They will give final presentations of their businesses in the spring.