Warrior Stop is open for shoppers only three days a month. That has not stopped it from gaining popularity, however, as well as teaching life lessons with every purchase. Lisa Pirrung, Black Hawk …
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‘Do I need it, or do I want it?’
Posted
By Madeleine Sutherland,
Record Staff Writer
Warrior Stop is open for shoppers only three days a month. That has not stopped it from gaining popularity, however, as well as teaching life lessons with every purchase.Lisa Pirrung, Black Hawk Middle School principal, had the idea to begin Warrior Stop when she and other district administrators witnessed a similar school store in Springfield. Their goal was to create a place for students to understand the concept of needs versus wants and the rewards and consequences of earning money.Another school in the district, Rebecca Boone Elementary, opened the Trading Post in 2014.“That’s really what we’re up against in life: ‘Do I need it, or do I want it?’ ” Pirrung said. “We’re trying to teach kids how to use their money and how to save their money.”This taste of the real world is housed in a small, closet-like room in the library of the middle school. It opened its doors in September. The room sports a checkout counter, a quirky dressing room made of Hula-Hoops and fabric, and shelves of items for sale.On the shelves of Warrior Stop, students can find items that range anywhere from necessities to nail polish. Clothes, shoes, hygiene products, 8jewelry, books, snacks, drinks and other novelty items are some of the most commonly stocked. Every once in awhile, a new video game will arrive in the store.“Every month it’s different,” Pirrung said. “Our goal was to make it feel like a real boutique or store that kids are walking into so that it was exciting to them, and so that they felt like they were getting cool stuff.”Some items are priced much higher than others to instill the “needs versus wants” ideology. Snacks cost $30 and drinks are $40, while canned goods are priced much lower. Clothes are $10, and coats and hoodies cost $25. A new video game is even more expensive.“You’re serving yourself, right here right now, when you eat a snack, but something that you would take home to your family is priced to be less,” Pirrung said. “We’re trying to show the difference between when you need to support something and if you need something to help out at home versus just for yourself.”Students are able to make purchases by earning money each day. There is no physical money; every student’s balance is tracked on a spreadsheet.For attending school, a student receives $2, and for maintaining good behavior that day, they earn another dollar.“So if you don’t come to school, you actually lose $2, because you couldn’t prove or show that you met expectations that day,” Pirrung said.She said students have shown a genuine excitement for the store. Even the eighth-grade class approved of Warrior Stop, a feat Pirrung said she was nervous about at first.During Christmastime, a free gift wrapping station was set up so that kids could wrap presents for their family that they had purchased in the store.“I find that this age group loves to do things for others,” she said. “So many kids come in here and find something for their family.”With over 750 students in the school, keeping the shelves stocked during shopping days is a challenge, Pirrung said. Warrior Stop relies entirely on the generosity of the community. They accept both monetary and in-kind donations.“Mainly what I’m finding is people will be out at Walmart shopping and see there’s something on clearance and end up buying all of it and bringing it in,” she said.The school also received a grant from the district’s WISE Foundation to help purchase products for the store, and received a donation from a school board member last fall.In addition to donations, volunteers also are a necessity in keeping Warrior Stop going. These volunteers, mostly parents, run the store during shopping days.“We wouldn’t be surviving without the parent volunteers that we get,” Pirrung said.Background checks are done on volunteers, and the school buys them lunch from the cafeteria on shopping days.“I think they’re always blown away, seeing kids’ faces and what they buy,” Pirrung said.
Edu Christine rummages through the clothes rack Friday morning at the Black Hawk Middle School store. Students are given tickets for good behavior, and can buy items inside the store.Kory Carpenter photo.
