A new business class was entered into the Eaton High School curriculum last year; Enterprise Operations is a level four business class offered to students. Students who wish to enroll in this class must take either Fundamentals of Accounting or Principles of Marketing as a prerequisite. This new class is the only business class graded on a weighted scale of 4.5, as opposed to the regular 4.0 scale.

     Students enrolled in Enterprise Operations learn the fundamentals of running a business, through the work of operating their own businesses throughout the school. They will also learn how to write a business plan that includes all of the details about their business in the school. By running their own businesses, students learn how to establish operating policies and procedures within a business. The goal of this class, according to the 2023-2024 EHS Course Description Handbook, is “building a solid framework of work-based learning for the student.”

     Class teacher, Alexander Adams, said, “Our goal is to get some business plans set up so that way we have student enterprises up and running by the end of the semester that are pretty smooth.”

     Current students in this class are broken off into groups to operate their businesses. Right now the businesses currently consist of t-shirts, mugs, and poster printing. Each business designs these prints and manufactures the final product with tools provided by EHS. Various organizations, clubs, and students throughout the school have purchased these items from the class.

     Adams said, “Putting together a business plan is pretty valuable, but I would say the actual skill in there that I think is most important is big picture and long-term planning. As well as just learning to exist with other students in a semi-competitive work environment.

     Long-term goals for this class is to develop a fully functional school spirit merchandise store. This store would be available for the entire community of Eaton to purchase from, as well as students and staff.