What happens when you ask every 9th Grader to create a team of classmates with whom to develop an innovative product, having at least one local ingredient, and then prototype it, design a logo, create packaging, and table display, and then scale it to sell at a fair for 100 plus attendees?  THEY DO IT!  And they come up with amazing ideas while getting their first taste of true entrepreneurship.

It does, however, take a village: Two fabulous innovative teachers Ms. Kruse and Ms. Grace at the helm; at least 20 local Skillmation Mentors; The Food Co-op supplying ingredients, many also locally sourced; The Chimacum Grainery for locally grown wheat;  the school cafeteria for packaging; herbs and veggies either homegrown or from community gardens, and, likely hundreds of parent hours of listening, suggesting and soothing.

Market Day happens in the spring during the month of May. There are 40+ student businesses, some solo, most are group endeavors.  This year’s awards went to 4 categories: Best Food Product, to Willow Creek Butter (garlic & berry!).  Best Non-Food Product to Stonewood Incense. Shoppers Choice was Luna’s Salsa (pictured below). Best Branding was EMK Seeds (sunflower, roasted to eat and plain for planting). Best Team Effort went to Bulgogi selling a Korean street-food lunch at the entrance to the gymnasium.  All proceeds from Market Day go to the 9th Grade Class Fund, for trips and prom.

The Product Innovation Market is not the only part of mentoring a school year of 9th Grade Mentoring.  For Skillmation Mentors, however, it is a particularly amazing longitudinal look into 9th graders grappling with invention, production, group dynamics, marketing, scaling, long-term planning and follow through! 9th Grade Mentors meet with students one to 2 times a month throughout the school year.

If you would like to be: a 9th Grade Mentor; or, help 11th & 12th graders with their post high school plans, essays and applications; or, play chess with middle & high schoolers; or, subject coach in just about every subject area; contact Skillmation at info@skillmation.org.   We’d love to get you connected!

Special thanks to Andrea Stanford, Co-op Marketing Manager and 9th Grade Mentor!