Angus Batchelder inside the empty building at Bison and Bear that soon will be transformed into SLE Outside. He said, "I think it's going to be totally fun and exciting working here. I think we're going to learn a lot."
SEELEY LAKE – Most people agree that education needs to be relevant, rather than simply rote learning. Often that gets interpreted as instead of handing students a page filled with numbers to multiply, the teacher poses a word problem.
The word problem may go something like this: Jill Salesperson, who works at a theoretical outdoor sports store, must help a theoretical customer with X amount of money decide what theoretical items he can afford to purchase for a theoretical backpacking trip.
Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) Superintendent Chris Stout wants to remove the theoretical from that equation. He has put in motion plans to open a student-run outdoor equipment cooperative store called SLE Outside.
SLE Outside will be located in the Bison and Bear Mall on Highway 83 in Seeley Lake. It will carry Nordic skis, bikes and bike accessories, backpacking gear and high-end sports clothing. Under the supervision of Stout and of Outdoor Education Director Bridget Laird, junior high and high school students will staff the store. Initially open Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., an anticipated six-day summer schedule will be worked out later.
The store's focus on outdoor gear ties in with already established SLE in-school and after-school programs. Stout sees SLE Outside as an extension of those programs, a way to further ingrain in students a love and respect for outdoor activities. In addition, having the store as a purchasing agent will make it possible for the school to buy additional needed equipment, such as skis and bikes, at greatly reduced pricing.
Mike and Cathy Kahnle, owners of Rocky Mountain Adventure Gear, are working closely with Stout in an advisory capacity and in making sure there is no overlap of gear between the two stores. Both sides characterize their relationship as win/win.
Cathy said. "It's not a competition. We want the school to be successful in this endeavor. We're going to be working with them and helping them learn some of the ropes."
Nov. 14 is the target date for the official grand opening of the store. However, Stout will formally introduce the venture Oct. 3 at an SLE Outside Community Launch Party.
The launch party will offer food, drinks and music from 5-9 p.m., but the event is primarily a membership drive. Stout's goal is to establish 200 lifetime memberships at $100 each. The $20,000 infusion from those founding members will provide seed money for merchandise purchases and other expenses. No money will be taken from the school's general fund.
The keynote speaker for the launch event will be author, wilderness activist and grizzly bear researcher Doug Peacock. The choice of Peacock as a speaker is designed to emphasis both the outdoor and educational components of the store venture.
Stout said SLE Outside will champion responsible recreation. He gives the example of a customer who buys a backpack. The customer will be offered some incentive – perhaps a free water bottle – if he agrees to watch a 15-minute video promoting leave-no-trace camping. Stout envisions that video being made by students in cooperation with someone from the US Forest Service or Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. In fact, Stout envisions everything about SLE Outside being run by students eventually.
To get the project started, Stout has worked with a core group of four high school and four junior high students.
Stout said, "Right now we have high school students looking into what companies do we want to work with and why? Do we want to work with Montana companies? Do we want to work with US based companies? Or do we simply want to get the stuff we can sell and make the biggest profit? So, all these conversations are going on."
Seeley-Swan High School senior Angus Batchelder handled contacting Toad&Co and finalized the deal to carry their line of clothing in SLE Outside.
Batchelder said, "They [Toad&Co] thought it was really cool that the majority of the staff would be high school and junior high school volunteers. They were way into that."
Stout was pleased at the way Batchelder took the initiative to contact the company and make all the arrangements.
"It's hard to even put into words how many educational opportunities there are just getting something up and running, let alone actually running it," Stout said. "It's easy to point out the basics like budgeting and inventory and all of that. People say that's cool, the students will be ready for a job in retail. No. That's not the point."
The point, according to Stout, is to provide real life situations where what the students do actually matters. For instance, SLE Outside eventually will have a student-written newsletter sent quarterly to its co-op members. That means, instead of writing a composition on a theoretical topic for a teacher, students will know that what they write will be read by hundreds of people in the community. They will also know that to some degree their writing can impact the success of the store.
Stout has numerous similar examples of how SLE Outside can provide real life opportunities for students with a variety of interests. Currently SLE Outside's internet presence consists of a tab on the SLE website (www.sleonline.org), but eventually students will be setting up and maintaining an independent website.
"I just want people to realize this is just so much beyond a point of sale retail store," Stout said.
The eventual plan is for each class to contribute something to the operation of the store. Stout said when he presented the project at a general staff meeting of 50 teachers and personnel from SLE, Swan Valley Elementary and Seeley-Swan High School there was strong support and a multitude of ideas.
Teachers from the three schools who agree to work as volunteers five days a year in the store will be allowed employee pricing on merchandise. That same offer will be extended to SLE Outside co-op members. In its status as a co-op, SLE Outside will also offer a number of other perks to its members, especially to its 200 founding members.
SLE Outside differs from traditional co-ops in that members won't own a part of the company nor have voting or any other legal rights.
"At the end of the day, our local school board has complete control over this project," Stout explained. He already has their approval as well as the approval of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau.
SLE School Board Chair Todd Johnson called Stout's conception and implementation of the project commendable. Speaking at the September board meeting he said, "I know this is the stuff you strive for Chris, but it is commendable that we have someone like yourself that is willing to take on extra things. I think it is great."
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