Invoices, marketing, sales calls and quality assurance will be on the syllabus of a new course for Dublin juniors and seniors.

High school students already can get a taste of free enterprise with business classes, but the Dublin Business Academy will provide a new, hands-on approach starting next fall at Jerome High School.

Students from across the district can be a part of the new program that will have them running a T-shirt design and printing business. The idea came because of a machine used at the school store.

Teacher Brad Richardson said the school purchased a T-shirt screen-printing machine three years ago and by the end of next year, it’ll be paid off by sales.

“We’re running it through the school store. We’re making T-shirts for different schools in the district,” he said. “I’ve been using students in business classes to operate it.”

T-shirt orders have even come from outside the district; assistant principal Bob Scott said the school did an order for Reynoldsburg schools and printed 1,200 shirts for the Dublin Police DARE program.

“(The business academy) came out of the fact that this year even though we have done no marketing — word has gotten out — it’s gotten to the point where it’s almost too much,” Scott said. “Brad has been doing a phenomenal job plucking kids out of study hall to help.”

While students have been learning how to design T-shirts and work the machine, there are new aspects of enterprise the Dublin Business Academy can offer.

“Students will run the business,” Richardson said. “They will learn every aspect. They’ll grow and maintain a real-world business.”

Students will get a chance to learn about sales goals, management, quality assurance, marketing, customer service, invoices, billing, creating a website and other intricacies of a business.

“They will be involved in every aspect,” Richardson said. “They’ll understand every job and how they all relate.”

“They’ll learn how to present themselves for a sale. What materials to bring to a meeting, how to dress,” Scott said. “There’s so much opportunity.”

Before the program became a reality, Scott said the district surveyed students on interest and 20 percent said they planned to major in business in college. The focus of the program is to give students a leg up with real-world experience.

“These kids can walk into an interview and present a portfolio with an income statement and sales goals,” Richardson said.

Work is under way to recruit a board of directors for the venture from the local business community, Scott said, with the hopes of gaining mentors for students.

The organizers also hope to forge a partnership with the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

At Jerome High School, other departments will be utilized for the program.

Scott said the art department can provide students who are interested in graphic design. Special education students can get involved in the program when it comes to sorting and packaging the T-shirts for delivery, he said.

“We’ll use the English department for ads and not just on paper. You don’t want something misspelled or wrong on your website,” Scott said. “This is pulling in all parts of the building.”

The Dublin Business Academy will be a three-period, year-long program and the business will be self-sustaining.

Scott anticipates pulling in $250,000 annually.

“We’re very lucky. (Superintendent) Dr. (David) Axner is a huge fan of this,” he said. “When you don’t pass a levy, you have to start thinking outside the box.”

To participate in the program, students must submit an application along with a teacher recommendation. An interview will follow.

For the inaugural year, Scott expects 15 to 20 students, although expansion is planned for the future. The program could run for three periods in the morning and three in the afternoon, he said.

The business could expand as well.

“We’ve been looking at embroidery,” Scott said. “But we wanted to wait and let the kids do research on that first. Or they might come up with something different. This is truly a class on entrepreneurship. The kids will come out of this knowing how to run a business.”

“Up until now, we’ve been making the decisions,” Richardson agreed. “But we want the kids to do that now.”