Sailing into the class Room!

Ahoy me hearties!

Some of you know but some of you do not, I teach wargaming classes to middle school aged kids during the summer.

So I am working on next years' summer class schedule and would like to have a Sails of Glory class. i have a few questions for you all. But first a brief description. The students pay a tuition to the school for taking my classes. Most of my classes have the students take home miniatures after the class is over. Each class is 5 days and 2.5 hours long each day. To help keep the tuition down and affordable to the students, I purchase the miniatures out of my personal budget for each class.

With the recent budget cuts, my budget for the summer classes have been drastically reduced and leaves me two options.

1) To increase the tuition for each class to help pay for the miniatures but at the risk of having fewer kids in class

Or

2) keep the tuition low and use my personal miniatures in class but the kids would not take any mins home.

What do y'all think would be the best course of action?

Thanks for you input.

I would try to come up with a way to let the kids keep a mini. Having a mini that they can hold and use with their friends will go a long way toward keeping them engaged in the hobby.

The minis really help inspire the imagination.

Heck, when I was a kid, I remember playing with the ships from our Battleship board game. What we have today is leaps and bounds above that!


I'm curious what the tuition for the class currently totals?

The tuition varies from class to class depending on the miniatures investment. Like the gladiators this past summer was only $65 per student because Wargames Foundry graciously donated 30 miniatures for the class and I only had to purchase 30, twenty of which I purchased at a discount. There were three classes with ten kids in each class and they took home 2 minis each that they painted in class. So the tuition covers my minimum hourly wage and the rest goes to the school for administration staff and utilities for keeping the rooms open. This past summer, the school ran from June to August, it is part of their enrichment program that generated cash for the program to run during the summer. We average as a whole between 600-1000 kids per week. Granted, in my case, most of my kids take multiples of my classes.

I agree that getting the minis in their hands keeps them wanted to play.

This summer I had a successful Wing of Glory class, some of it is posted on the Wing of War forum. Keith graciously donated to the class as did Clipper with some balloons and I was able to purchase some discounted planes for the class. The kids were crazy about the game and with their planes and decks are playing the game.

I hope it will work the same with Sails.

Did that help answer your question? Sometimes I run long in the mouth :embarass:

Yes, that answers. Interesting program. The Park District here where I live has similar summer programs. I may explore the possibility of doing something similar here... But I doubt it would go over very well at $65 here.

How many sessions are included in that $65, if you don't mind me asking?

Blake, I would also advise, if your school has a 501C3 or some similar tax classification, see if you could use that and see if some online store might consider selling you minis at a discount for a possible "charitable contribution" deduction on their taxes. (Even if it also means adding a note about "miniatures sponsored by _________"--which also gives them free advertising.)

Blake, as the class gets closer, send me a PM.

Blake, have you ever looked into a grant? If not PM me.

Ahoy, wear ship, each class is five days long and 2.5 hours each day.

Ahoy, Diamond, yes the do but when I started with them 7 years ago, the Admin, said if they let me use it then they would have to,let the other 200+ classes use it and they did not want to go down that nightmare :-)

Ahoy, Royal Hajj, will do, in April.

Ahoy, 7eat51, will do.

Thanks guys for the help and interest.

Many 501c(3) organizations are very cautious in accepting donations and making their tax number available to participants. Two groups I have been involved in, Scouts requires each unit to obtain their own 501c(3) status if they wish to maintain a tax exempt unit fund. Civil Air Patrol had so much touble with units reporting donations and fund raising that they finally required state HQ's to maintain all sup unit finances. So it's understandable even if aggrivating that your school won't allow the use of the 501c(3) status.

I think what your doing, at you own expense even is quite admirable. Kids learn a lot with hands on media, stuff they won't take in through lecture.

Bob

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Originally Posted by HMS Lydia

Many 501c(3) organizations are very cautious in accepting donations and making their tax number available to participants. Two groups I have been involved in, Scouts requires each unit to obtain their own 501c(3) status if they wish to maintain a tax exempt unit fund. Civil Air Patrol had so much touble with units reporting donations and fund raising that they finally required state HQ's to maintain all sup unit finances. So it's understandable even if aggrivating that your school won't allow the use of the 501c(3) status.

I think what your doing, at you own expense even is quite admirable. Kids learn a lot with hands on media, stuff they won't take in through lecture.

Bob

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Another CAP person, nice!

Howdy Bob and Thanks.

I run one wargame a year for the Boy Scout troop my sons were in each year on their winter weekend camp out. Luckily we are in old barracks, no heat or A/C but cover anyway. The Scout Master cannot plan that camp out until I cn give him an open weekend or the scouts refuse to go unless I bring the wargame. It is their reward on Saturday night after a day long service project out at Fort McKavet.

This year will be wings of glory :happy:

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Originally Posted by The Royal Hajj

Another CAP person, nice!

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<- former C/SSGT

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Originally Posted by csadn

<- former C/SSGT

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Former cadet commander here.

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Originally Posted by The Royal Hajj

Former cadet commander here.

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Unfortunately for me: Between my eyesight failing, and not being part of "the in crowd", my chances for advancement were limited. (The one time I got to command a flight was because no one else higher than me showed up -- when the SM told me, "OK, fall them in, Sergeant", *I actually turned and looked to see who he was talking to*.)

My membership expires at the end of the month. I was a cadet in high school, you had to be 14 to join back then, and spent 13 years as a SM. As a matter of fact took a 10 year hiatus from wargaming to do CAP activities. There just wasn't time to CAP and wargame. I've been inactive over the last year, been back in wargaming the last 2 years.

I've done a lot in CAP, and met a lot of good people. But, its time to move on. With Army service, OHMR, CAP, JROTC, combined I spent over 30 years in uniform (enjoyed every second of it). I'm sure I'll miss it from time to time, but my left ankle is all but gone. Even standing around the gaming table gives me fits.