This is our third year to include entrepreneurship in our math program at Roadways Literacy Studio. Many of you may wonder why we put so much time and energy into our math component when we are a literacy studio. Well, many of our students who struggle with reading, also struggle with math, especially the reading and writing parts of it. Adding entrepreneurship provides an opportunity to apply the numbers and operations that they are learning in class to a real-world situation. It is also interesting to note, that 35% of dyslexic people become entrepreneurs!

Entrepreneurship class is held on Fridays at our studio. It often includes a session on basic essentials of entrepreneurship. Occasionally, we invite guest entrepreneurs to speak to us about their experiences. And on
other days, time is provided for the students to work on their own individual businesses.

For our fall term, September to December, the students were asked to come up with a business plan, which would include producing items for sale at an event that would take place close to Christmas. Many of our students created beautiful crafts that reflected the season. Others chose to make their business year-round. Our “Christmas Market” was held on December 4th, 2019. Friends and family were invited to shop and then enjoy apple cider and treats. Following our sale, we spent time: counting our money (giggle, giggle); discussing how each business could be improved; and deciding if it was a business students wanted to continue with.