Reality Store a Glimpse into Future for Middle School Students

March 15 marked a turning point in the lives of more than 500 Duneland middle school students. As children from St. Patrick’s and Chesterton Middle Schools participated in the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce Reality Store, they gained first-hand knowledge about the financial realities of life after graduation.

At the beginning of the event, students were assigned occupations and salaries in keeping with what they could expect to earn according to their g.p.a.s. They then visited a series of 17 booths, where they received deductions for monthly and annual expenses, such as taxes, childcare, transportation, recreation, health insurance, etc. Depending on their remaining funds, students were sent to either financial planning advisors or bankruptcy counselors.

While the students’ starting salaries were linked to academic performance, many opportunities existed for changes in fortune as students interacted with “the ping pong of chance,” a booth which dealt DUIs, unexpected funeral expenses, lottery winnings and surprise inheritances. Students were also assigned number of offspring by a roll of the dice.

For more than 20 years, the Chamber and Duneland School Corporation have partnered in planning and hosting the Reality Store through the Chamber’s Partners in Education Committee. Ronda Clougher of Pure Air, one of the 120 community volunteers who staffed the event, endorses the Reality Store as “well organized, and a great educational opportunity.”

Those interested in learning more about Chamber events should contact the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce at 926-5513 or by e-mail info@chestertonchamber.org.