by Molly Meeks |

The Bird House is not just a home for our feathered friends, but also the name of the recently unveiled school store located off the cafeteria.
“Right now, we are [open during] late start mornings and then all of fifth hour. That’s one question we will put on the survey too, to see if students need us to be open more at different times,” business teacher Scott Howard said.
Though the Bird House has only had its doors open since February 28, business has never been better. Stocked with almost every item a student might need or want, it is the perfect location for anyone to mosey around during their free time.
“So far it’s been going well. We have some different apparel items, t-shirts and long sleeve shirts and sweats, some hooded sweatshirts and some hats, lanyards, some basic school supplies, candy and some water bottles, too. We’re going to be adding some coffee mugs and travel style coffee mugs and possibly some drink items,” Howard said.
The store is run by the Entrepreneurship students and those earning A+ hours. The students working in the shop learn the basics of running and maintaining a business by manning the registers, taking inventory and ordering new merchandise.
“The intent of the store is to give students the opportunity to have a place to get things that they might need or want. The ultimate goal isn’t to be some business that makes a bunch of money and expands; the goal is to be an educational opportunity. We just need to make the money to keep it operational,” Howard said.
The creators of the Bird House want the store to be as helpful as possible for students. One way they plan to learn what the school wants from the store is by conducting surveys on potential merchandise.
“A lot of kids have been in there at least once to check it out. I think as we start to get more things in there, we’ll probably see some more kids coming in. We will probably do a couple advertisements on KLHS over the time and I think one thing we need to do is get the parents aware of it. We do have a Facebook page, but that’s just getting started. We’d like to have a little bit more of a web presence so parents can see what we have,” Howard said.
Having a school store has been an idea that has been on the minds of students and teachers for a long time. The space the Bird House currently resides was originally made around 1996 for the intent of a school store. Two names were chosen by last year’s entrepreneur students, but as the store gradually developed, the Bird House just seemed to be the right choice.
Though there has been much curiosity as to where the profits of the merchandise go, it is not that big of an issue; the money the store has earned is simply used to keep it constantly stocked.
“The money we make from the store goes to buying new merchandise, then everything pretty much goes back into the school. We have had kids that come in and say ‘Man that’s kind of expensive,’ but the things aren’t marked up too much. There is no sales tax on top of what we sell, we’re probably a little bit less than others. I know it’s hard for kids sometimes because they’re spending their own money so it seems like a little bit more. I think when you compare us to convenient stores and other clothing places, we are competitive,” Howard said.