City Times Staff

What may look like horseplay during class-time is actually an intentional exercise designed to encourage 15-year-old Elijah Piotrowski (left) and his classmates to think like business owners.

Art Greco’s ninth grade World of Business class is in the beginning stages of organizing a nonprofit organization for its semester project. The intent it to raise funds for one of three local charities, and teach students how to think — and act — like a professional.

“They need to know how to think, how to act, how to talk so they can survive in the real world,” Greco said. “This isn’t just about being a business owner — some of these students will never own a business — but these are important skills to have so they can communicate in the real world.”

After utilizing the Stevens Point City Times website to conduct a community-wide survey, students were able to narrow down one local charity to benefit through its creation of a nonprofit. Thanks in part to City Times readers, the class has chosen to raise funds for the Portage Co. K-9 unit, which costs about $10,000 annually to maintain, and operates solely through donations from the community.

Greco said games like Rummikub and Monopoly help students — who he said need to treat each other like business partners — to bond and think critically. Students themselves are charged with gathering relevant information from community professionals, and once complete, the group will outline its fundraising goal.