Mark Frost is the principal at
Innovation Central High School, a GRPS school where the Academy of Design and Construction is located. He says the student's newest "business" there is a serendipitous offshoot of a class project based on students designing and building Adirondack Chairs. Frost says there were no expectations for the chair project, other than the learning outcomes from the design process, "but we saw the people were drawn to them. In the spring we started offering a few chairs and raised some money and put it back into the program."
During ArtPrize, the students sold the Michigan-shaped Adirondack chairs as a fundraiser and took orders for 19 chairs. After that, students created additional designs and developed a business plan and assigned roles, such as CEO and CFO, to learn business skills and develop a sustainable business model. These days, business is thriving.
There are currently four designs available: Michigan-shaped, floral, football helmet, and painted Michigan State University. The painted chair is $150, while the remaining designs sell for $100. Students are able to work on three chairs at a time, and most take about three days to complete. The painted chair takes about a week. Orders can be placed through teacher Andrew Abissi at
[email protected] or by calling 616-485-2929. All proceeds are used to purchase materials for ADC projects.
Frost says the chair program is not designed to be ongoing, as the students will be moving forward on other parts of the curriculum, but they will revisit the project in the future as new students start the program.
The Academy of Design and Construction program is designed for students with an interest in architecture, engineering, design, and construction.
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
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