Colorado fifth graders learn basics of marketing by designing sneakers
Fifth grade students from Sunrise Elementary School and Summit Elementary School were given the opportunity to design shoes as part of a new project.
It was all a part of the annual art show. The project is teaching kids more than fashion, it is instructing them to create and market their own products. They used 3D printing, laser cutting, along with sewing to make their shoes.
Jordan Colle is just one of 250 students who got to express themselves with a pair of sneakers.
"The flag on it is the Black pride flag and that reflects a lot of who I am. And the shoelaces are made from crochet, which is one of my favorite things to do," Colle said.
It's a project that made many students excited about school again. Alison Smith, an art teacher, says this was the purpose to get these students motivated.
"There were students that were kind of disengaged at the beginning of the school year for 5th graders, both of our school buildings. So, I talk to 5th graders a lot on what kind of things they like to do and what are their interests and we found shoes as a common interest among a lot of our students in our community," Smith said.
The project is teaching students the basics of marketing, social media influence, networking and fashion design.
"This is a really high level project, usually students don't do things like this until they are in college. So, creating this project now in elementary school gives students an early advance art experience," Smith said.
For 5th grader, Mackenna Dickey, this taught her more than that.
"To be yourself and don't follow other people are trying to make you," Dickey said.
After speaking with a couple shoe designers from Nike and Vans, the project became a reality with the help of Cherry Creek Schools Foundation, providing students a budget of $30 each for materials for their sneakers.
"We have a lot of shoes that didn't turn out the way students had hoped that they would... after like, a lot of research and preparations, months went into it. So, I learned a lot about just pivoting and learning from the process more so than like, the final product," Smith said.
Students have until the end of the school year to finish their project. Once finished, they will be able to take their shoes home.
