Corporate Raiders Students run full-service, profitable print shop out of Keyport High School BY TAMMY MCKILLIP Correspondent PHOTOSBY TAMMY MCKILLIP Above: Students (l-r) Maggie Leonard, Christa Boyce and Matt Farkas pursue a course of independent study with Raiders, Ink, a printing business at Keyport High School. Left: Keyport High School business technology instructor Dawn Racioppi stands in front of a wall filled with examples of her students' work. KEYPORT - They're only teenagers, but five Keyport High School business technology independent study students are running a successful business and already have more job and personal relations skills than many college graduates. "About three years ago, our department supervisor, Terry Pilitzer, came up with the idea that, since we're teaching a desktop publishing class and sending a lot of jobs out to the printers, it was costing the district a lot of money, so we figured the kids could do it," said business technology teacher Dawn Racioppi. "We put a couple of ads up in the community and on television, and we started getting calls for little jobs. Then it just kind of snowballed into this big business within a classroom." With prices ranging from about 3 cents each for simple black-and-white copies to 7 cents for color copies, Racioppi said the student-run Raiders, Ink, is much cheaper than commercial printers and has become a competitive alternative to several local corporate-run printing shops. "We can do 250 business cards for about $15," she said. "That's with ink and paper. People bring in their designs and say, 'We have no idea what to do¿' and we'll design something for them and work with them. We can turn around an order in a couple of days, in most cases." She said the five independent study students currently running Raiders, Ink were hand-picked because of their ability to work in a disciplined fashion, on their own. "If there's a big job, they're very good. They make it their priority," she said. "They work their tails off to get it out that day. They'll get here early or work through lunch. They're very responsible." Senior Christa Boyce is studying business and desktop publishing and plans to study computers at Brookdale Community College in the fall. She has been in the independent study program for two years and is proud of her group's accomplishments. "We bought all our own equipment and supplies from the money we made doing jobs," she said. "We usually do it by ourselves. [Racioppi] will give us the work, and then we'll print it." Junior Matt Farkus said that although the students receive no pay for their work with the program, it is "great experience," and will help in his plans to attend college, where he plans to study computer engineering. "We use Word, PowerPoint, Adobe, and Publisher," he said. "We've learned how to do layouts and graphics, and we've made cards, invitations and even just finished making a magazine for a skating company. We also do playbills and tickets and things for the school plays." Maggie Leonard, a junior studying accounting, said she has put her studies to use as Raiders, Ink's treasurer. "They give me the receipts, and I have to make sure that people have paid and keep track of the profits," she said. Racioppi said the kids get academic credit for their studies, which they perform independently, before and after school hours, as well as during their lunch period and study halls. She said the class is invaluable in teaching the students how to run a business. "It teaches them entrepreneurial skills," she said. "It teaches them how to work with people, how to interact, use phone skills, work with deadlines and be a better business person." She said that most of the students that take the two-year course of study will eventually take the career route of publishing or accounting but that the most important thing is that they are developing interpersonal skills. "It seems like a lot of kids are coming out of school not knowing how to answer a phone or how to speak to a client or shake a hand," she said. "Our kids are coming out with business skills that I think have fallen by the wayside these days." Bolstered by the generous donation of a machine that can make up to 300 copies in 10 seconds, Raiders, Ink is grateful to the Board of Education for providing the money and equipment for the program, Racioppi said. That money will eventually be recouped by the money the board saves by in-house printing, she said. For information on graphics, printing and design by Raiders, Ink, call (732) 264-0902 or click on Keyport High School's link at www.keyport schools.org, then click on the Raiders, Ink link.