Aspiring entrepreneurs at a local school can now create their own virtual business from the comfort of their classroom.
M.S. 137 in Ozone Park opened its first Career and Technical Education lab Tuesday. It's all part of a program by Virtual Enterprises and Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina. The program is meant to show middle school students how to start and run a company. Usually the program is featured in high schools, but this is the first year three middle schools are testing it out as a pilot program.
“You really get to be independent and be on your own and to do things on our own,” said M.S. 137 student Usha Sooki. “And I really like that because it gives the students a way to learn how they learn best.”
“What we saw here today are students who area creating new businesses, but also learning how to sell them, how to market them, how to plan for them mathematically,” Farina said. “I think this is a wonderful program.”
Students are expected to have a virtual company up and running by the end of 8th grade.