Highlands exposes students to real-life careers at mock town, 'Ramsville'

Highlands Elementary School students no longer have to wonder what it’s like to be a police officer, barista or a veterinarian.

They’ll get exposure to plenty of real-life careers with hands-on lessons through a mini town called “Ramsville,” which was constructed over the summer at the East Ninth Avenue school.

The mock village is complete with a coffee shop, construction site, veterinarian office, police station, bank and more.

“We can’t take a field trip to each one of these places, but we could bring the lessons here,” Principal Sarah Kumar said.

Created by Lilliput Play Homes, a Finleyville-based company that creates structures for education and play, “Ramsville” looks like an old-fashioned Main Street.

It’s nestled in the auxiliary gym and features eight storefronts to provide a realistic learning atmosphere for students, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said.

The $90,000 program was paid by Title I funding through the U.S. Department of Education.

Mawhinney said teachers will integrate career education into daily instruction.

“Then, students will apply their learning in a simulated environment where they can perform hands-on tasks associated with the careers they learned about,” she said.

The Golden Beanery, for example, gives children a glimpse at life as a barista or business owner. The pint-sized counters are lined with espresso machines, bakery items, cleaning equipment and a cash register.

They’ll learn marketing, money-management and entrepreneurship, said Faith Foster, district career and work readiness facilitator.

“This isn’t just a play space,” she said. “They’ll get background knowledge and start figuring out who they are and what they might want to be, and we’ll figure out how to help them get there.”

Foster was introduced to a similar program during a Junior Achievement trip with several Highlands students to Biztown in Bridgeville. That warehouse-sized simulated town gave Highlands fourth graders a chance to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks and vote for mayor.

Following the trip, Foster and Kumar saw a Lilliput village first-hand during a visit to Duquesne City Schools — and Kumar knew immediately that she wanted to bring the program to Highlands.

“This is exciting,” she said. “It’s structured exploration time focused on careers.”

Through the model shops, students will be introduced to paths that include criminal investigation, marketing, photography, cosmetology, aviation and more.

The village includes Golden Glams Salon, Highlands Police: 9th Avenue Precinct and Piggy Bank Central, among other storefronts.

At the vet’s office, students can dissect a stuffed frog and learn about anatomy through a picture of a dog’s skeleton. At the police headquarters, students might use their English skills to write a criminal report.

“They’ll start to ask themselves, ‘Am I artistic, am I investigative, am I realistic?’ ” Foster said. “By the time they get to high school, we’ll be able to help them put a plan in motion.

“We want our kids to leave high school knowing who they are and how they’re going to get there.”