FAQ

TREP$ was developed to meet a big need. Students are not being introduced to business early on or in a way that is meaningful. Traditional classroom and simulation approaches don’t do the topic of “entrepreneurship” justice. Education experts have proven that today’s students learn more, retain more and use their knowledge more when they’re actively involved in the learning process.

Most importantly, kids stay connected and engaged during the Workshops, and therefore, remember the business concepts that they are taught. They have so much fun learning because they are active participants. Preparation is virtually effortless for teachers, and the Workshop Facilitator Manual and Student Workbooks make every lesson captivating and creative.

Anyone genuinely interested in the topic of entrepreneurship can teach the TREP$ Workshops. A parent volunteer, a professional teacher, or a business member from the community all work equally well. The Workshop Facilitator Manual helps the teacher every step of the way.

We know that volunteers can’t spend hours on lesson preparation. That’s why we’ve scripted the Workshop Facilitator Manual and designed it to help teachers adequately prepare with minimal time. And most of the materials are already in your classroom or school. Preparation is a cinch so you can spend time building relationships with your kids!

It’s extremely rewarding, and actually quite easy. The spotlight isn’t on the teacher. Rather than being a lecturer, the teacher becomes a guide or facilitator, helping children discover the world of business ownership through short lessons, engaging classroom activities, and team “challenges”.

The lessons are active, so your classroom is full of happy kids having fun. (Remember, they’re still learning in the process, but they have less reason to act up!) Our Workshop Facilitator Manual also provides guidance on how to introduce and enforce a “Professional Code of Behavior” policy.

The TREP$ program materials have been created with 4 main roles in mind: a Team Leader to oversee the entire program, a Workshop Facilitator to teach the Workshops, a Publicity Coordinator to promote the program and the Marketplace, and a Marketplace Coordinator to handle the organization and execution of the Marketplace. Ideally, these roles would be filled by four people. As they say, many hands make light work! That being said, TREP$ has been executed successfully with as little as two people filling these main roles.

The TREP$ Marketplace serves an important function in allowing each student to take a risk, to apply what they have learned, and to operate a business! Many entrepreneurship programs on today’s market fail to take things to the next level — stopping short at the business plan stage or simulating business ownership. Nothing can replace the extreme feelings of actually taking your product to market — the excitement, the nervous energy — the feeling of doing, rather than planning. The TREP$ Marketplace makes it real.

The TREP$ Marketplace is the test! By experiencing business ownership first-hand, the kids walk away able to celebrate their successes and to learn from their mistakes. No grades necessary – this is real-life, self-assessment.