A crowd of students hover in front of the 1300 hallway. At the front of the crowd, Principal Matt Groff, accompanied by two students, stands behind a bright red ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors. Hushed murmurs run through the crowd, as the blades inch closer to the ribbon. The scissors snap shut, silently ripping the ribbon in half. The crowd bursts into a sudden round of applause. As the ceremony ends and the applause dies down, the doors to the CO-OP open letting the crowd into the store fully stocked with school spirit. 

“As I would walk past the store there was always a crowd of people bustling in the store, talking to our staff and congratulating us on our hard work,” junior Anvitha Dhulipala said. “We were really surprised to see the number of people who bought stuff.” 

Located in room 1341 and run by the Business Management classes, The CO-OP is a student-run store specializing in school related merchandise. The CO-OP sells sweatshirts, hoodies, T-shirts, Booster Club merchandise, and FDA approved snacks. Prices for apparel are  t-shirts for $15-$18 and sweatshirts/hoodies for $30-$35. Prices for snacks range from $0.50-$2.50.

“Rather than go off campus, we want to provide convenience,” Business Management teacher Eric Chaverria said. “We want to grow into something students want.” 

Not only are the students involved with the CO-OP from Business Management, they also went through a rigorous application process and were selected based on their work ethic and willingness to put in large amounts of their time into the business. From there, students are given different types of jobs to focus on to help run the CO-OP. For example, some students focus on finances and accounting, while others work on marketing and public relations. 

“Throughout the first few weeks of operating the store, we experienced many obstacles, but I learned how to work with my team and also how to delegate tasks to promote efficiency,” sophomore Ashlyn Mehok said. 

The CO-OP plans to collaborate with different organizations around the school to increase products sold at the store. The most notable collaboration the CO-OP currently has is an apparel partnership with the print shop. Prototypes of school apparel are designed by the print shop’s graphic design department, then sent to the CO-OP’s focus group to decide which designs would be sold at the CO-OP. 

“Most of the time I see myself learning as I go, with research and trial and error,” Dhulipala said. “We hope to continue to provide more opportunities to interact with the student body and learn as much as we can.”

Recently, the CO-OP received a mini grant from the PTSA for the funds to purchase a laser printer. With the laser printer, The CO-OP plans to offer school related personalized custom merchandise (notebooks, tumblers, pins, and apparel) for students to purchase. 

“We have goals,” Chaverria said. “It’s just like a real business. We have a finance team. We have a human resource team. We have a marketing team. We have an inventory team. It’s all very integrated.”