by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers

Most of the Blaze logowear is bought by students. But there's more on the racks of Burnsville High School's school store than sweats, T-shirts and shorts.

School District 191 staffers favor the trinkets and gifts that are assembled by students and sell for less than 10 bucks.

"I think you'd be surprised at how much we sell," said Wendy Holm, a BHS work experience teacher and the store's chief advisor. "I would say a majority of the gifty stuff gets bought by adults in the buildings. They come from everywhere."

The Blaze School Store and More held its annual open house Friday, a testament to the growing success story tucked into an office-sized room in the school's "F" wing.

The store is self-supporting. Sales have grown, reaching $11,000 last year -- enough, Holm said, to buy a new scanning cash register that spits out detailed inventory reports.

The six-year-old store is part of the school's work-experience program, a component of District 191 Individualized Student Services.

Some 50 students contribute, from assembling gifts to working in the store, Holm said.

"We've got the kids involved in every aspect of the business," Holm said. "Some kids are doing price tags. Some kids do the receiving of merchandise. Some kids do the displays."

Each student finds a niche, she said.

"We really individualize it so the students are enhancing the skills they're good at, and it's really building them up," Holm said.

Six students in Holm's second-hour class -- the Blaze School Store and More class -- are the key workers.

"We recruit them because they have leadership potential," Holm said. "We see that they have a good work ethic and work skills. Also, it really helps to have an interest in the retail area. That motivates them."

Of course, dollars-and-cents decisions like choosing vendors reside with the work-experience teachers. But no vendor gets access to the store shelves without first making a presentation in second hour.

"We've got several vendors, and the vendors have to go through the second hour to get chosen as vendors," Holm said. "We tell them up front that the students choose the vendors."

Holm said the six students function as a board and share their expertise with one another.

"It's a really nice way to do team building and communication building, and it's a nice way for them to see the bigger picture and what everyone's doing to make the store work, not just their little piece," she said.

The store opened with trinkets and gifts but became a larger concern last fall when a Burnsville store called the Spirit Shop went out of business. The school store bought the Spirit Shop's remaining inventory of Burnsville Blaze logowear.

"Their misfortune turned into our fortune, and we've been able to just blossom from it," Holm said.

The store even takes its logowear "on the road," setting up a booth at football games, parent-teacher conferences and the school career fair.

But the Blaze School Store and More can also satisfy your need for smiley-face notepads and holiday tea in a jar. Students make the notepads from die cuts and large reams of colored paper. They stuff and package gift mugs, cups and jars.

"We just kind of package things in different ways," Holm said.

For more information about the Blaze School Store and More, call (952) 707-2195 or visit www.isd191.org and go to the Burnsville High School page. The store is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Room F-160.

John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.