By Michael Schell
Take a look around the Sparhawk Academy grounds: fields, a barn, gardens, chickens who answer to no one. That’s not brochure scenery. It’s the curriculum our students, teachers, and families live in.
A boy learns algebra in the classroom and statistics through yield calculations in the garden. He learns rhetoric and the importance of strong public speaking by reciting his Bard performance and again by serving a customer during our Farmer’s Market. The farm doesn’t decorate the liberal arts here. It provides a tangible way to apply the liberal arts alongside our Craftsmanship and Entrepreneurship programs.
As part of their Principled Entrepreneurship classes, Sparhawk’s sophomore class is organizing a Farmer’s Market featuring Sparhawk goods and produce as well as hosting local vendors. The Farmer’s market will be held on October 17, directly after our Fall Open House. We spoke with them about their experience thus far and their hope for the project.
What were your initial thoughts about the Farmer’s Market internship?
We thought it was kind of ambitious, but once we started planning, we realized we could make it happen.
It was a good opportunity for all of us to excel not just in the classroom but also outdoors. I think working together like this builds a new kind of friendship you would never get in the classroom; you get more of a hand-in-hand, working-together kind of friendship.
What has the process of preparing the Farmer’s Market been like so far?
There are a lot of important aspects you need to consider to get a business running. We focused on inventory, pricing, and marketing. This means collecting eggs and tracking egg production, knowing how many vegetables are being grown, and so on. When pricing, we need to account for costs like chicken feed, seeds, and pest control. Lastly, we’re focused on marketing, making sure that people know when and where the Farmer’s Market will be.
One of the most interesting things so far is that we’ve been able to work with many real farmers. We’ve had farmers speak with us about their struggles, what they’ve learned, and their ideas. They taught us about what we could do better and what we should try to prevent.
How does the Farmer’s Market reflect Sparhawk’s mission?
It’s like our school motto: Surgite, et nolite timere. Rise up, and don’t be afraid. You have to rise up to new challenges. Creating a farm stand is rising up to the task. “Don’t be afraid” is part of it, because you will be afraid sometimes when creating something new and having difficulty with it. The Farmer’s Market is a new challenge for us to rise up to and take on fully.
How has this project changed the way you’ve looked at business?
Now we think about all the details that go into running a business, the different moving parts: How do they design this? How do they plan that? What’s their organizational structure? How much effort goes into this?
This is very different from using only case studies. You can learn from case studies, of course; they help put some theory into practice. But we’re getting real hands-on experience. The final product is a real, solid thing. We’re doing the work of creating it, running it, maintaining it—all of that. Problem-solving is very different when you’re actually doing it with real stakes.
This internship helped turn our Craftsmanship and Entrepreneurship programs into real-world skills.
What does success look like to you for this project?
Success is having this incredibly valuable experience starting a business, which we can use throughout life. The new knowledge we gain will make it a success. We also want to reach people outside the Sparhawk community so we can introduce more people to Sparhawk.
Success isn’t just doing well financially; it’s about how we help the community at Sparhawk and beyond.
We welcome you to join us at the Sparhawk barn and orchard at 376 Orchard Street in Millis on October 17, 2026, at 12:00 for our inaugural Farmer’s Market!