Here's an idea that may be too involved, but here goes. Have the kids build the "cabinets" for a DESIRABLE DIY speaker kit in teams (to keep the costs down). One that comes to mind (because I desire it myself) is the Hammer Dynamics speaker. Have the teacher build one pair of complete units (with drivers - cost = $575.00 w/o cabinet) as a prototype. If you are local you could assist with the internals and I am positive that you would be able to get all of the pointers that you need from either here or from the AA website as there are fans and tweakers of this speaker. The finished set of speakers could be used in the future by the schools AV department as a tribute to this project. Have the completed cabinets (without internals) inspected and graded by the teacher and then auction them on Audiogon (repair as needed). Publicity of the auctions can be placed at AA and at Audiogon. Think of it as kind of a shop/business course/bake sale for the school. I do not have the energy or the tools to build the cabinets for DIY speakers and I assume that their are many others like me that are held back by this. Because of this I feel that the cabinets will be marketable. Receiving the payments and shipping the cabinets woudld be a pain, but so is doing business in the real world.
Inexpensive DIY Speakers
I have a friend that is a shop teacher that wants to put together a project for students. The idea is a good 2-way in a moderate to large enclosure. We're trying to keep the cost down. The students will build the cabinent and do most of the construction. The drivers don't need to be audiophile quality, just good.