Devena Designs to start at VHS this fall

Published 1:04 pm Monday, May 15, 2017

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

New career-focused programs are coming to Verbena High School this fall.

Monogramming and heat press classes and a business management class will be offered as a part of running the school store Devena Designs.

Principal Todd Davis said the equipment will allow students to monogram or heat press designs on to shirts, hats and other items.

“Hopefully, we will get to where all of our schools can send their monogramming to us and we can keep the money within the county,” Davis said.

Davis said Devana Designs will be open to the community a few days a week.

“The kids will be a part of the design process and making all of our goods that we are going to sell, ” Davis said. ” We are going to initiate a business academy with that.”

These business classes will cover small business finance, computer skills and website design.

Davis said the website will be used to advertise the merchandise and take orders.

“They will actually do a business model for this class,” Davis said.

The plan is to offer products made by agri-science students as well.

“This has been a two-year process, after visiting Mobile County where we found the idea … I knew it was something we needed to do in Chilton County,” Chilton County career tech director Dara Norman said.

Davis said Norman and superintendent Tommy Glasscock “wanted someone who could kind of take ownership of that and then after I talked to them we decided that we (Verbena) would do it.”

Davis said the new business-focused programs and store would be a project unique to Verbena and is a part of a county wide focus to have each high school find a niche of programs to meet student interests.

“We are very excited because it is so much about project-based learning,” Glasscock said. “Our kids don’t learn the way they used to, they don’t like to be sitting in a classroom and be lectured to.”

Glassock said having the store will help the students learn every aspect of running a business, from inventory to customer service. Glasscock and Davis said they would like to pursue a partnership with local business in the future.

The new programs will focus on getting students ready for working in the industry as well as skills, such as using Microsoft Office, that they would need in college.

“We are constantly being told by our industry partners that our kids are not leaving college and career ready, so this is another opportunity,” Glasscock said.

This year, students designed the logo that will be used for the store. Next year, students will rotate between creating items and running the store.

Revenue generated from Devena Designs will be divided between the departments involved in designing the product sold. Davis said a third of the proceeds will go to the school’s general fund.

Teachers have prepared for the store opening by attending training for each of the monogramming and heat press machines.