They fill government and business roles during day-long educational program.
By Jennifer Bhargava, The Kansas City Star
The bustling streets of Exchange City are often filled with police officers, news reporters, cooks and bankers. Few of these citizens, however, are more than 11 years old.
Throughout the year, fifth-graders from across the Kansas City area are invited to spend a day at Exchange City, a non-profit educational program located at Penn Valley Community College.
Last week, fifth-graders from Corinth Elementary school took over the town.
"It's a lot cooler than school," said Bryant Ramirez, one of the school's students. "I had the job of a police officer, which was a lot of fun. I got to give tickets to kids who broke laws, like walking on the grass."
Educators also enjoy the program because it gives their students an experience beyond the classroom.
"I've been bringing classes here (Exchange City) for five years because it gives kids the chance to learn real-life business skills," said Patrick Swartz, Corinth Elementary teacher. "The get to see different aspects of a world which they only read about. It is one of their favorite field trips."
The mini-city includes a Sprint shop, a Health & Wellness Center, a cafe, a sports shop, a Community America credit union, a newspaper, a radio station and a Waddell & Reed financial Planning Center. Sprint, Community America and Waddell & Reed are businesses that partner with schools in sponsoring Exchange City.
Each student plays a role in the community - whether it is mayor, police officer, judge or a business employee. The students receive salaries based on their jobs.
During one of their three breaks, students can purchase food, buy a newspaper or request a song at the radio station.
"My favorite part of Exchange City is buying my own stuff without asking my parents for money," said student Sydney Crawford. "It's really a lot of fun."
Prior to the field trip, the students spend three to four weeks in class preparing for their jobs.
They study business concepts and prepare for job interviews.
"The class work was half stree and half fun," said Regina Basse. "We studied a lot of vocabulary words and memorized our job descriptions. But I was really surprised when I saw how cool the city is, and that made me happy."
Essential adult skills, such as writing checks and taking out loans, are also taught before the students enter Exchange City.
Most of the lessons, however, are learned straight from experience. Students have to carefully watch their budgets throughout the day - the goal is for each business to pay off their loans before the day ends.
The new citizens are offered the chance to buy health insurance. At the end of the day, the Health & Wellness Center randomly selects citizens to acquire certain illnesses and the money is deducted from their paychecks.
The students also have to vote on laws for the city.
Swartz said he always makes sure his students learn from their mistakes at Exchange City.
"When we're back in class, we will go over everything," said Swartz. "We will use this experience as a springboard for other areas of learning." |