Fifth Graders from Sunquam Elementary School Go to Commerce Plaza

These fifth graders from applied their business skills as they operated the Commerce Plaza branch of Capital One Bank during their recent day-long visit to Commerce Plaza, the Children’s Business Center.

Sunquam Principal Karen Littell said: "This is a wonderful program that our fifth graders participate in. It is a partnership between the school and the broader community, in which we work together to help educate our students and begin to develop life skills."

Commerce Plaza is a unique, hands-on educational experience, providing students from all Long Island school districts an opportunity to learn about business and economics in a simulated work environment, promoting an understanding of the world of business and economics. 

Students are first exposed in their home classroom to the basic principles of economics through the Commerce Plaza curriculum, aligned with NYS Learning Standards. The program concludes with a full-day field trip to the Commerce Plaza site, which integrates the lessons from the classroom with actual work experience as students collaborate using higher-order problem-solving skills as they function as retail operators, producers of services, and consumers for the day. 

“Our Long Island students are our future workforce, and it is critically important to give them an understanding of how businesses operate, the role they will play in the economy as consumers and providers and how learning in school today is the foundation of their future in the workplace,” said Commerce Plaza Chairman of the Board Teresa Covello.