Future Business Leaders of America officer and Glad Shack cashier Kimberly Cortez-Benavides, a senior, sits in the window of the Glad Shack, the school store at Clarke Central High School, located in the E.B. Mell Auditorium, on March 22. FBLA sponsor Jaclyn Brown gave FBLA members the opportunity to volunteer at the Glad Shack. “My FBLA officers and students, I offered them the opportunity to see who wanted to actually work in the school store,” Brown said. “So, Kimberly Cortez-Benavides and Jimena Santamaria Marin said, ‘Hey, we’ll work.’ And, so they’ve been working every Tuesday and Thursday.” Photo by Aza Khan
After a nearly 10-year hiatus, the Glad Shack has returned to CCHS and offers students an opportunity to learn about running a business.
When students entered the Clarke Central High School cafeteria in 2010, they were greeted with the smiling faces of cashiers, the bustling sounds of shoppers and vibrant displays boasting an array of snacks and drinks.
Nestled in between what is now the Administrative Suite and the Miller B. Jordan Food Court entrance, the Glad Shack, CCHS’ school store, prospered, according to CCHS Athletic Director and former Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education department chair Dr. Jon Ward.
“(The Glad Shack) was a true storefront that faced the cafeteria, that was open before school and during school, that had counter space and (sold) school supplies, snacks and spirit attire,” Ward said. “It thrived, and it was (in) a perfect location. Both before school and especially during lunch, students were coming and going, constantly in and out.”
The store was run by marketing students and, according to Ward, served a an opportunity for them to gain work experience and learn about what it’s like to run a business.
“I believe in opportunities for real-life experience during the school day. The primary reason for me (re-opening the store) is (because students receive) a real-life opportunity to (learn) how to do things. There’s so many opportunities that used to exist in a high school setting that don’t (anymore),” Ward said.
Two hands exchange a bottle of Sprite at the Glad Shack, Clarke Central High School’s school store, in the E.B. Mell Auditorium lobby on March 22. While the reopening of the Glad Shack in December brought many new opportunities for students, CCHS Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner worried there are disadvantages of the store being in the E.B. Mell Auditorium lobby. “One of the things that we’ve got to (work) on is getting people used to being (at the store). Since it’s all the way over here, the people who see it are the students coming in from the buses and the car riders,” Barner said. “The fact that we’re so far away from the student parking lot makes it a little difficult (to sell). So, we do want to get more word out about it, so we’ll get more students to come down and take advantage of it.” Photo by Aza Khan
“(The Glad Shack offered) such a great opportunity for students to get hands-on experience with everything that goes into running a business.”
However, in 2014, CCHS began renovation and the Glad Shack closed to allow for the addition of the administrative suite. On top of that, several CTAE classes were removed from the school due to the introduction of the Athens Community Career Academy, including the marketing class.
In the near decade without the Glad Shack, CCHS merchandise wasn’t as easily accessible, contributing to a lack of school spirit, according to CCHS Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner.
“We get a lot of students, as well as people within the community, like parents, who want Clarke Central stuff. In the past, it’s like, ‘Well, you can go to Target. They have some there,’ but that’s not the best way to tell people how to get stuff,” Barner said.
In 2019, Ward began talking to Barner and CCHS CTAE department teacher Jaclyn Brown about restarting the Glad Shack. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the idea was set aside.
In the fall of 2023, Barner brought the idea of bringing back the Glad Shack to the CCHS Student School Climate Committee, where students meet monthly during Advisement to discuss things happening around the school.
“(The Glad Shack offered) such a great opportunity for students to get hands-on experience with everything that goes into running a business.”
— Dr. Jon Ward,
CCHS Athletic Director and former CTAE department chair
“Initially, what the students (in the SSCC) said was that they wanted vending machines. But we looked into that and we couldn’t do it. The next best option was (to open) a school store, which we had already talked about,” Barner said.
“I started talking about this with Ms. Brown, about how her students could get involved. It (could) be a work-based learning opportunity for them. (The idea) just kind of started moving from there.”
A storage shelf in the Glad Shack, Clarke Central High School’s school store, located in the E.B. Mell Auditorium, features an assortment of candy and beverages on March 22. CCHS Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner hoped that, by selling CCHS merchandise in the store, students would feel more pride in their school. “(The store’s) hopefully (going to) be able to promote, within the community, with families, opportunities to buy spirit wear and Clarke Central stuff,” Barner said. “A lot of (the store) is us trying to brand the school and selling the school (merchandise) in the community. So, when you’re out and about, you
see more Clarke Central stuff, and there’s an opportunity for people to be able to express pride in their school by having those things.” Photo by Aza Khan
Today, the Glad Shack, which reopened its doors officially on Jan. 16, is located outside the E.B. Mell Auditorium and provides students with snacks that sustain them throughout the school day.
“Students are hungry and they’re picky. Sometimes they may not like (the) breakfast (that is served) or that breakfast may not fill them up. So, sometimes, they can come back (from breakfast) and get a drink or a snack for later on,” Brown said. “We have that accessible to them, and that’s the only way they can purchase it because they’re not allowed to use the vending machines for snacks here at the school.”
CCHS Business Technology student and Glad Shack cashier Kimberly Cortez-Benavides, a senior, volunteers at the store on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and looks forward to what the future holds for the store.
“I hope that we get to get more stuff (in the future). There’s other schools that have slushie machines and we want to start to have that. We want to have a more official look,” Cortez-Benavides said. “We also want to have (the store open) during lunch.”
Brown hopes that, in the future, she, Barner, Ward and students will be able to restore the store to its former glory.
“We’re trying to build (the store) back up, which is gonna take a lot of effort. We’re starting from Ground Zero, so we’re just trying to get (back to where we were),” Brown said.