CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Department of Education has an initiative in place that allows students to run their own business and, so far, it’s working, according to Dr. Kathy D’Antoni, chief career and technical education officer at the department.
“We have see a phenomenal change in students,” D’Antoni said. “They said ‘we feel respected’ and because of that we’ve seen attendance rates go up. We’ve seen test scores go up.”
D’Antoni joined Governor Earl Ray Tomblin Wednesday at the Charleston Civic Center to kick off the state DOE’s Simulated Workplace Summit.
More than 700 school administrators, teachers and counselors from across the state were on hand to learn more about the initiative.
“Simulated workplace allows students to own their companies, to direct their own companies. The classroom changes totally. It’s no longer a traditional classroom,” D’Antoni said.
The program is set up for students to act as executives of their own business as a way to become more accountable of their education, D’Antoni said.
“They learn through doing. We don’t tell them. They see it for themselves when they run their own companies and it’s working like a charm,” she said.
Wednesday’s event gave students the opportunity to answer questions as to why they believe the initiative is important in West Virginia schools.