MA Student Creates Inclusive Entrepreneurship Program for Adults
Jackie Pinney, Sonoma State alumna, earned her teaching credential in special education in 2017 and completed her Master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Special Education in 2024. Jackie teaches a “transition class” at Ridgeway High School in Santa Rosa. Her students, ages 18-22, have extensive support needs and are learning vocational and life skills. They often have jobs in local retail and business establishments and do much of their learning in the community.
As Jackie worked her way through her graduate degree, she became very interested in the limited employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities. To prepare her students for greater independence, Jackie investigated inclusive entrepreneurial activities that she could create for her students. She recruited typically developing high school students to work with her and her students to make and sell crafts at the Santa Rosa Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays. Each of the students chose to work on a team, crafting, selling, managing the budget, and so on. During the week, students plan and create crafts, work on money-handling skills, and practice making conversation with market shoppers. Jackie, her students who have chosen to be salespeople, and a co-teacher set up their crafts in a booth alongside farmers selling seasonal vegetables, bakers with their treats, and other purveyors of fresh, local goods. They have gotten to know regular customers, the baristas at the local coffee shop, and other booth-holders.
At the final presentation of the handbook that Jackie developed to guide other teachers to start an inclusive business, she described the behavior changes she had seen in some of her students. Individuals who resisted all work, ran away from class, or felt invisible have developed the ability to focus on sewing stuffies, an enthusiasm for creating and managing the crafts and other items necessary for a successful small business, and opened up to having conversations with strangers.
“Butterfly Crafting by Cool Kids,” the Ridgeway transition class’s business name, is a charming shop at the local farmers market. More importantly, it is a transformative educational and social experience for young people who may otherwise fail to thrive in our community. Jackie Pinney’s incredible work in creating this inclusive entrepreneurial activity authentically engages her students with the community. The handbook she developed, with its strong research support for such activities as well as practical advice for how to initiate a new business, will be a boon to special educators everywhere.