by Stacey Kemmerer

Special to the Sounder

Students in Stacey Kemmerer’s class in grades fourth- through sixth-grade culminated a month-long series of lesson and activities when they went to the indoor city of Biz Town in Auburn, Washington.

During this unit of study, students learned about banking services, and personal financial responsibility by learning how to write checks, use a debit card, credit card, and a saving account. They learned how to balance a budget, pay bills, run a business, and employee accountability.

They gathered with 150 other students to run an entire town from utilities to the government. During Biz Town, the OCS students ran two businesses and took care of everything from marketing, manufacturing, and retail. Students had a real-life experience of being part of the economy as a consumer and producer. CEO Olivia Longworth was named the Citizen of the Day. She stated, “I’m glad I’m not a grown up yet, it was really hard work!”