Livingston Academy students recently opened the Hogeye Market, a student-run business designed to give them real-world experience through the Comprehensive Development Classroom program (CDC).
Special Education Teacher April Stover said the Hogeye Market offers items such as hats, shirts, and jewelry that allow students and community members to show their school spirit. She said the CDC students who operate the market gain valuable hands-on experience in managing a small business, from customer service to handling transactions. Stover added that the market not only teaches practical job skills but also helps build independence and confidence among CDC students.
“The only way that we can really instill that is have more ownership in what they are doing, but also make it in a way that is real life,” Stover said. “So what started as a t-shirt fundraiser idea kind of expanded into this whole store where they can learn these skills.”
Stover said CDC students are often overlooked, or people don’t expect them to have skills that they are capable of having. Stover said opening the Hogeye Market has been a huge accomplishment for the students.
“Just to see how much our students support our special education students is really heartwarming,” Stover said. “I know there is a lot of negative stuff that goes on in the world today, but we have got such a good camaraderie with our students and our general ed students, with our students who need a little extra help and support. And just to watch them come together and do something that isfun for the school, it is just really heartwarming to see.”
CDC Teacher Karla Crabtree said students chose the name Hogeye Market as a nod to local history. “Hogeye” traces back to a chant started by students from the Bethsalda community, also known as the Hogeye community in northeast Overton County, who attended Livingston Academy after their small school closed in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Those students would chant, “Hogeye, Hogeye, T-N-T,” a tradition that has since become part of the school’s heritage.
“Karla is like, we just say it,” Stover said. “It’s something we do, and it’s about community.”
Stover said the money raised is used to reinvest back into the business, classroom needs, community-based learning opportunities, and service projects. Stover thanked all of the community partners who played a role in making the hogeye market happen.