Entrepreneurship Everywhere

Sample Entrepreneurship Education
Programs in the United States

MAINE

No Programs Reported

MARYLAND

Garrett Information Enterprise Center

Sandy Major, Administrator
Garrett Information Enterprise Center
P.O. Box 151, Mosser Road
McHenry, MD 21541
301-387-3167
Fax: 301 387-0307
Email: sjmajor@earthlink.net
Web site: http://www.giecworks.com

Focus: Creating an environment for facilitating the successful development of information intensive companies

Geographic Area: Garrett County and the region

Products and Services: Garrett Information Enterprise Center (GIEC) is a technologically advanced building located on the Garrett Community College campus, consisting of 20 office areas. In addition to providing services for tenants, the center will support other local small businesses as associate members by making available "an office without walls". It is a combination of support services and resources designed to meet the needs of young technology businesses.

Age Level: Adults of all ages

Key Partners: Garrett County Public Schools, Garrett Community College, Allegany College of Maryland, Frostburg State University, the Entrepreneurial and Technology work groups of the Western Maryland Task Force, the Western Maryland Small Business Development Center, Maryland DBED, and Tri-County Council.

Abstract: The creation of GIEC is a proactive approach to implementing an economic strategy that addresses the critical unemployment problem that plagues Garrett County and the region. During the past eight years a number of technology based businesses have been founded in our region. With the recent advances in our telecommunications infrastructure, Garrett and Allegany Counties have become increasingly desirable locations for these types of businesses. The new installation of "points of presence" in the two counties make it even more feasible for Internet businesses to be based in the region. GIEC is designed to create new jobs by strengthening this strategically important business sector.

GIEC WORKS is an entrepreneurial training and resource project designed to provide incubator tenant and associate businesses as well as other information technology businesses within our region with skills assessment and a just-in-time training plan in the areas of leadership, financial management, and technical expertise resources. It will also provide them with easy access to information on a wide range of financial and technical resources. GIEC WORKS supports sustainable economic development by enabling the successful development and profitability of small information technology businesses in our region. This is achieved by:

• Building awareness about the link between effective entrepreneurial skills and business success
• Providing skills assessment/just-in-time training plans and a training resource database
• Assuring easy access to a network of technical and entrepreneurial support resources
• Providing easily understood information on financing programs
  

Montgomery Blair High School

Derek Sontz, Entrepreneurship Instructor
Montgomery Blair High School,
Montgomery County Public Schools
51 E. University Blvd.
Silver Spring, Maryland 20901
301 649-2876
E-mail: dss2@yahoo.com
Web site: http:///www.mbhs.edu

Types of Students Served: Montgomery Blair High School serves a diverse poplulation of students, with 30% receiving free and reduced lunch (FARM) although demographics show 50% eligible for FARM. Approximately 57 languages and 75 countries are represented within the school.

Abstract: The Blair Entrepreneurship program is designed to provide students with abilities in identifying business opportunities, starting and operating a business based on identified opportunities, and maintaining the business, successfully earning a profit. This is achieved by creating a business plan, and integrating guest speakers, field trips, technology, community involvement, and other projects, into the course. Students have successfully created business plans, and run small businesses. Some students have competed in regional business plan competitions, with a group winning an award from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). As an instructor, I was awarded 2002 honorable mention for teacher of the year in 2002 and have gained 'adoption' (sponsorship) from a local entrepreneur to enhance classroom instruction and student opportunity.

Successful integration of parent involvment is a goal for this year, with the creation of a model program for school system wide implementation of the Blair Entrepreneurship program. As a NFTE Certified Entrepreneurship Instructor, I have successfully implemented the NFTE curriculum, acquired sponsorships, and continually work on professional development by attending conferences related to Entrepreneurship all over the country.

Thomas Stone High School

Patricia Maxwell,
Business Education Teacher & Department Chair
Thomas Stone High School
3785 Leonardtown Road
Waldorf, MD 20601
301-645-2601
Fax: 301-932-4278
Email: pmaxwell@ccboe.com

Focus: High School students

Abstract: In the past, Principles of Management/Entrepreneurship has not been taught with the intended focus and students spent the year on reading about management. The management textbook was the only resource used and it never dealt with students learning about starting a business. Now the class is being taught with more emphasis on entrepreneurship. It is a class offered to all students. It is a full year course that focuses on entrepreneurship and managing a small business. Many outside resources, guest speakers, and field trips enhance the program.

Each student will complete a business plan as the capstone of the course. At the end of the year, students present their plans to members of the Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, Charles County Board of Education, our Principal, and their peers by both PowerPoint and in an exhibition. The students are excited and it has created some talk around the school, hence creating more interest.

The instructor left the corporate world to teach business so that students could be better prepared for their futures. She has had several businesses of her own to include daycare, Financial Services, and currently a Real Estate Investment Company.

University of Maryland
Michael D. Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

Director, The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 300
College Park, MD 20740
301-403-4290
Fax: 301-403-4292
Email: dingman@rhsmith.umd.edu

Focus: The Michael D. Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship facilitates, supports, and encourages entrepreneurship and new enterprise growth in the Mid-Atlantic region through outreach, education, and research. With its office at the University of Maryland at College Park, the center is at the heart on one of the fastest growing regions for start-up and high-technology businesses.

Abstract: The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship was founded in 1986 when Michael Dingman, then chairman and CEO of the Henley Group, and an alumnus of the University of Maryland at College Park, provided a $2 million endowment to begin the center. Subsequently, Michael Dingman has contributed an additional $4 million to the Dingman Center to be used for scholarships, faculty research, and support development of an undergraduate entrepreneurship curriculum.

Additional support is provided by an endowment from the Kanazawa Foundation and from fees for services and from various contracts. Finally, the Dingman Center has created the Inner Circle, a group of individuals and firms who provide critical financial support to the center.

The Dingman Center is part of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland at College Park, the flagship campus of the 11-campus University of Maryland System. As such, the center serves as a link to many University of Maryland System resources. In particular, the center has a close working relationship with the Engineering Research Center, providing management services to companies located in the Technology Advancement Program, a business incubator on the College Park campus. The center also collaborates with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in co-sponsoring the Entrepreneur Series of roundtables, workshops, and short courses.

Dingman Center management is active in speaking to various civic, service, professional, and other organizations as well as at conferences in order to enhance the image of the university and to raise awareness for Dingman Center programs. The director also serves on the advisory boards of the three business incubators sponsored by UMCP, UMBC, and the Montgomery County High Technology Council.

The Kauffman Entrepreneurial Internship Program
In the summer of 1999 the Kauffman Entrepreneurial Internship Program was managed by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. Funded by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation, the internship program gives students the opportunity to work in fast-paced growth companies using their business and technical expertise to enhance their entrepreneurial success.

• Students work 40 hours per week for 10 weeks beginning in late May to early June.
• Students receive experience.
• Students are paid a stipend of $7,200, paid in three installments.
• Students must register for BMGT 828 Independent Study course.
• Students must give a written and oral presentation at the close of their internship.

University of Maryland
The Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEOs) program

Dr. David Barbe, Co-Director
Dr. Robert Baum, Co-Director
The Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEOs) program
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20740
301-405-3677
E-mail: db8@umail.umd.edu
E-mail: jrbaum@rhsmith.umd.edu

Focus: University-based program

Abstract: The Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEOs) program, the nation's first living-learning entrepreneurship initiative, brings students together from diverse majors to learn how to start their own businesses.

The CEOs Program arose from a partnership between the Robert H. Smith School of Business, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Substantial services to the Program are provided by the Engineering Research Center and the Department of Entrepreneurship, while abroad array of services are also offered by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, the Office of Technology Commercialization, the Office of Information Technology and Department of Resident Life.

A specialized, high-technology "e-Dorm," seminars and workshops from venture capitalists and successful businesspersons, industry-student mentoring, and unique entrepreneurship education courses give students a stimulating and supportive environment in which to dream and realize their ideas. The program culminates in a business plan for each new student venture and assistance to obtain financing.

Brian Hinman, University of Maryland Alumnus of the Clark School of Engineering and entrepreneur, provided $2.5M to initiate and support the program for its first ten years. The Program is a joint partnership between the A. James Clark School of Engineering and Robert H. Smith School of Business. It is co-directed by a faculty member from each of the two colleges.

Women's Business Institute

Beatrice A. Checket
Women's Business Institute
222 E. Baltimore Street
Taneytown, MD 21787
410-756-2334
Fax: 410-756-2936
Email: checket@juno.com
Web site: http://members.aol.com/bchecket

Focus: Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Maryland

Geographic Area: All rural Maryland counties and the West Virginia and Pennsylvania counties immediately adjacent to the western Maryland counties of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett

Products and Services: Entrepreneurial training programs, counseling, networking facilitation, and intermediary loan services

Age Level: Adults of all ages

Key Partners: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Women's Business Ownership, Small Business Development Centers, Service Corps of Retired Executives, community colleges, select community business leaders and businesses, including chambers of commerce, and the YWCA

Abstract: The Women's Business Institute (WBI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of women. The center provides services and programs that support and accelerate women's business ownership and strengthen the impact of women on the economy. WBI enables women to launch new businesses and to more successfully run existing businesses.

The Women's Business Institute was founded in 1997 by Bea Checket, founder and chief executive officer. Clients are provided with a variety of mentoring, consulting, and training programs including:

Orientation and Business Assessment—A complementary program that helps prospective and established women business owners clarify their needs and learn about WBI resources.

First Step FastTrac (Welfare to Work)—This 27-hour course is given over 9 weeks and provides business training and computer workshops for prospective business owners.

Premier FastTrac I—This nationally recognized 27-hour course is offered to entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of a business startup or who have been in business less than two years, and helps participants evaluate and define their business concepts.

Premier FastTrac II—This 33-hour course is a proven business development process to boost profits and increase growth.

Women's Business Roundtables—A mentoring and support group for women business owners to share and learn from each other, held in several areas of the state.

Consulting Services—Individualized consulting is provided to prospective and existing women business owners.

Computer and Internet Training—Introductory courses are given to teach computer skills and to teach clients the use of the Internet.

Loan Intermediary Services—Intermediary services are provided for application to the SBA Women's/Minority Prequalification Loan Program and Microloan Program, including help in developing business plans and writing loan applications.

Youth Entrepreneur Academy
Launching Entrepreneurs into Action Program

Baltimore City Office of Employment Development
Youth Entrepreneur Academy
417 E. Fayette Street, Suite 468
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-396-1910
Fax: 410-752-6625

Focus: Saturday program for youths

Abstract: The objectives of the program are to expose students to positive role models from business who will introduce them to various careers and encourage them to pursue careers in business and industry; provide training to youths on starting and managing a business; strengthen partnership arrangements with businesses, corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions; provide students a financially risk-free entrepreneurial business practicum; and enhance the emotional, academic, and social development of participating youths.

Career awareness presentations are made by successful adult role models from October through December to interest youths in entrepreneurship. Students who express interest are invited to attend the Youth Entrepreneur Academy, a series of business-skills and self-enhancement seminars that offer participants the basic knowledge and practical application skills needed to start and manage a small business. The faculty of the academy includes both educators and business leaders.

The sessions of this ten-week academy are held on Saturdays from January to March. During the academy, student teams generate business plans that are entered into a competition. The five top-rated teams receive priority enrollment into the business practicum known as Launching Entrepreneurs into Action Program.

These students then receive financial and advisory support to implement their plans. This advisory support is provided by the Business Owners Start-Up Service program of the Council on Equal Business Opportunity. The practicum runs from June to the end of July. In addition, students in the practicum earn wages paid through the summer jobs program. The program serves all interested Baltimore city youth age 12 to 21 and the entire high school population of Baltimore City schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Alliance All Purpose, Inc.

Alliance House
Stoneham, MA
617-438-6880

Focus: Business training and experience for youth

Abstract: Alliance All Purpose is a service business offering assistance with yard work, auto detailing, and other labor-intensive tasks. It is owned solely by the residents and graduates of Alliance House, a staff-secure, short-term assessment and intervention for adolescent males age 13 to 17 years referred by the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.

Alliance All Purpose is a real corporation, owned by the residents and graduates of Alliance House. It is separated into two divisions: the Resident Division and the Senior Division. The Resident Division is for Alliance House residents, all of whom must participate in the business. The Senior Division is for Alliance House graduates, who, after they leave, continue working with the business either full-time or part-time. The goal of the Senior Division is aftercare—to keep former residents employed, to reinforce positive behavior they learned at Alliance House, and to provide daily support.

Each Alliance House resident is a stockholder and Alliance All-Purpose owner. The stockholders meet every Monday morning for one hour. There is a five-member board that includes up to two Senior Division members. The board is elected by the stockholders and holds weekly meetings to decide policy issues. At the end of each month, after all expenses are paid, the net profits are divided among stockholders according to the numbers of hours they worked during the month. A portion of the proceeds of each job are kept in the business.

The classroom is used as a business training ground where the basic skills for running business are taught. The residents who attend school 5 to 7 hours daily learn basic accounting, marketing, and computer skills and customer relations skills. For example, a math class on work problems emphasizes how to calculate a job bid.

In the future, Alliance All-Purpose hopes to start a bank modeled after the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. It will be available to those in the Senior Division. Those starting a business will be assigned a professional mentor and will meet with others in teams. Alliance All-Purpose will be part of PBS's This Old House programs.

Babson College

Dr. Steve Spinelli
Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Babson College
Babson Park, MA 02457-0310
781-235-1200
Fax: 781-235-1200
Email: webmaster@babson.edu_Massachusetts
Web site: www.babson.edu

Abstract:The college's founder, Roger Ward Babson, was a visionary financier and a successful entrepreneur and businessman. He was an educator ahead of his time, and his entrepreneurial spirit forms the philosophical foundation of Babson College.

For more than 75 years, Babson College has taken the lead in teaching venture creation and growth, and emphasized the vital place of entrepreneurial thinking within established businesses. Our expertise has been widely noted. In October 1998, Business Week named the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson among the top 50 MBA programs in the United States. In the 1998 U.S. News and World Report survey of top national graduate business programs, the F.W. Olin Graduate School ranked first in entrepreneurship for the fifth consecutive year.

In U.S. News and World Report's 1996 survey of the best business schools for entrepreneurs, Babson's undergraduate program ranked first in the United States (1996 was the last year of this survey.)

Success magazine has included Babson among the 25 best business schools for entrepreneurs from 1994 to 1998.

At the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, the mission is to enhance entrepreneurship education and practice worldwide through the creation and development of teaching, outreach, and research initiatives that encourage and support entrepreneurs and the spirit of entrepreneurship. The study, promotion, and practice of entrepreneurial leadership are essential to Babson's mission and character. The spirit of entrepreneurship pervades our curricular and co-curricular activities, and the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship is the hub of outreach, research, and teaching in the field.

The Glavin Center for Global Entrepreneurial Leadership, launched in 1997, continues a long tradition at Babson College of entrepreneurial innovation to meet the needs of a changing business world. Through the appointment of distinguished faculty members, the center builds on Babson's academic strength and leadership to develop new collaborations in business, teaching, and research worldwide. The center will broaden Babson's impact in the international arena and set the stage for new levels of achievement in Babson's mission to educate entrepreneurially-minded men and women for positions of leadership in the twenty-first century.

Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative,
F.A.D. Embroidery Service

Gayle Hsiao, Instructor
Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative (L.P.V.E.C.)
Career and Technical Education Center
20 Johnson Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
413-593-5586
Fax: 413-593-5586
Fax: 413-593-6003
Email: gaylehsiao@aol.com
Web site: http://www.lpvec.org/

Focus: Fashion trades/retail merchandising senior high school (vocational) level

Abstract: In 1998–1999, we ran two pilot programs in the Fashion Trades/Retail Merchandising program (F.A.D.). We introduced the NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship) curriculum and purchased a Tajima TMEX-C1200 commercial embroidery machine.

Our original purpose was to enhance the Fashion Trades/Retail Merchandising program with a training that would give our students a competitive edge over any other applicant in a retail setting. The entrepreneurship instruction would make our students better employees, even if they did not develop the desire to start their own business. The embroidery machine would give the students an opportunity to learn to design and create a multitude of products, from logo clothing to personalized blankets to hats and gift items.

As the program took form, we saw the two components offer the students one of three options:

• They could start their own business using the embroidery machine to create unique products for a niche market that the student would be responsible for defining
• They could work for F.A.D. Embroidery Service selling retail through our own school store or personal contacts
• They could be a part of the F.A.D. Embroidery Wholesale Service.

The wholesale business sells logo hats, clothing, and fleece blankets to other school stores in the network of schools and community centers in western Massachusetts participating in the NFTE program. The wholesale business also sells personalized products and special orders to area gift shops. This year, the F.A.D. Embroidery Service added a Web page advertising the products and services available.

Through the Web site, a potential customer can see a sampling of the products offered, and contact us for a brochure. The Web site development was a senior project for one of the F.A.D. students.

Upon completion of the program, a trained student can take one of three routes. He/she can start his/her own business by buying or leasing a machine; find employment at any of a few embroiderers in the area (at well over the typical minimum wage); or go for additional training as a technician with the Tajima company.

Gayle Wilson Hsiao is an instructor at the Career and Technical Education Center, the vocational high school for the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative. The collaborative serves seven communities; students attend their home schools for their academics and come to the Career TEC for their vocational training.

In 1998, Gayle became one of nine teachers to be granted certification through training at Babson College's NFTE University in a pilot program bringing entrepreneurship education to western Massachusetts. The local schools work under the auspices of Springfield Technical Community College as the Y.E.S. (Youth Entrepreneur Scholars) programs. We have now been recognized as being the third-largest NFTE program in the country.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Entrepreneurship Center

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Entrepreneurship Center
70 Memorial Drive, Room E51-355
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-253-8653
Fax: 617-253-8633
Email: ecenter@mit.edu
Web site: http://entrepreneurship.mit.edu

Abstract: The mission of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center is to train and develop leaders who will make high-tech ventures successful. To that end, we offer educational programs to inspire, train, and coach new generations of entrepreneurs from all parts of MIT.

The MIT Sloan School of Management ranks among the top educational and research institutes in the world. This claim is possible because the university boasts an outstanding and committed faculty. Over 25 faculty members specialize in entrepreneurship or new ventures.

To sustain and expand the entrepreneurial, creative tradition, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology established the MIT Entrepreneurship Center with seed funding from the Kauffman Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Coleman Foundation, and the Lemelson Foundation. Located at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the interdisciplinary center provides a central focus for the broad and growing array of activities, programs, and resources in entrepreneurship from all the schools and departments of the institute, as well as from the broader venture community. The center works actively to design and implement novel education and research programs that will lay the groundwork for the future practice of entrepreneurship.

If the companies founded by MIT graduates and faculty formed an independent nation, the revenues produced by the companies would make that nation the 24th-largest economy in the world. A 1996 study prepared by the Economics Department of Bank Boston found that the 4,000 MIT-related companies that exist today employ 1.1 million people and have annual world sales of $232 billion. That is roughly equal to a gross domestic product of $116 billion, which is a little less than the1996 GDP of South Africa and more than that of Thailand.

Since MIT was founded by an act of the Massachusetts state legislature, entrepreneurship has been a core value of the MIT culture. The act established MIT for "the advancement, development, and practical application of science in connection with arts, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce." In this spirit, MIT scientists, engineers, and managers believe that it is not enough merely to invent a new product, concept, or technology. The measure of success is global commercialization and widespread acceptance of their innovations. The MIT Entrepreneurship Center works to coordinate and strengthen this vital force, to promote a better understanding of it, and to promulgate the lessons learned for the benefit of all. In the process, faculty develop new paradigms for teaching students how to be successful high-tech entrepreneurs.

MIT's entrepreneurship professors and instructors use a variety of teaching methods: case studies, internships, external review of student assignments by venture capitalists, guest lectures, and student projects. All courses involve teamwork and a focus on presentation skills.

The Lemelson-MIT Prize Program was created in 1994 to encourage young Americans to pursue careers in science, technology, and entrepreneurship. The program awards the world's largest prize for invention and innovation, the half-million-dollar Lemelson-MIT Prize, as well as MIT student awards for inventiveness and doctoral fellowships seeking to create a more innovative and entrepreneurial environment in the United States.

The MIT $50,000 Entrepreneurship Competition is an annual student-run competition that provides resources and inspiration to encourage students and researchers in the MIT community to act on their energy, ideas, and talent to produce tomorrow's leading firms. Judges drawn from business angels, venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and professional-services firms award $50,000 in cash and business services to the three winning teams. In its nine-year history, over 30 companies have sprung out of the competition. These ventures have received over $185 million in capital investment and created over 300 jobs.

Massachusetts MicroEnterprise Association
African and American Friendship

Alusaine K. Deen, Executive Director
Massachusetts MicroEnterprise Association
P.O. Box 29
Boston, MA 02126
617-327-0313
Fax: 617-327-0239

Focus: Business training through classroom and field trips

Geographic Area: Boston area

Products and Services: Business development training

Age Level: Youth and young adults

Abstract: As part of the Massachusetts MicroEnterprise Association, African and American Friendship works with youths age 12 to 25 in the economically depressed areas of Boston, such as Dorchester. It was established in 1986 and started its entrepreneurship program in 1995. The program provides business training through classroom and field trips for youths in disadvantaged Boston communities and provides start-up money to youths who start their own microenterprise.

Springfield Technical Community College
Entrepreneurial Institute

Thomas A. Goodrow, Founding Director
Entrepreneurial Institute
Springfield Technical Community College
One Armory Square
Springfield, MA 01105
413-755-6107
Email: tgoodrow@stcc.edu
Web site: http://www.eship.org

Focus: Full service support for developing local entrepreneurs

Abstract: The Entrepreneurial Institute is a natural development which has evolved in order to comprehensively meet the emerging demand for entrepreneurial education that is currently sweeping this country. This widespread support for entrepreneurship education provides a rich context for the work of the Springfield Technical Community College School of Business and Informational Technology's Entrepreneurial Institute.

The Entrepreneurial Institute provides a "one stop" approach to entrepreneurial education for entrepreneurs who seek start-up or growth knowledge and information. Credit and non-credit courses are offered by a well-balanced team of specialized professionals in all subjects relating to new business start-ups and ongoing small businesses. The Entrepreneurial Institute also offers interdisciplinary programs involving experiential learning, internships, and cooperatives which enable people to learn first-hand the anguish and joys of starting and growing their own businesses.

Reaching into the community in order to increase the stream of new entrepreneurs who can grow and develop new companies, the Entrepreneurial Institute functions as a coalescing force in the development and delivery of entrepreneurial education across the spectrum of present and future business owners.

Located on both the campus of Springfield Technical Community College and the STCC Technology Park, the Entrepreneurial Institute will serve as an integral part of the College's Springfield Enterprise Center by providing one-on-one individual advising and a full range of information and services for present and future entrepreneurs. As part of an innovative partnership between business and education, the Entrepreneurial Institute is prepared to foster and support economic development in the region at the K-8, postsecondary and adult levels.

Mr. Goodrow is the co-founder of the Entrepreneurial Institute at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) in November 1996, in collaboration with entrepreneur/educator Dr. Stephen Spinelli, Jr., Professor, Babson College. Dedicated to promulgating entrepreneurship education, the Entrepreneurial Institute at STCC serves as a "one-stop" center of entrepreneurship education for present and future business owners.

These programs include a Student Incubator, which is one of only a handful in the country at the community college level. Mr. Goodrow has successfully raised over 1.5 million dollars from private and public foundations, as well as securing additional individual donations from area entrepreneurs in support of expanding the Entrepreneurial Institute to meet the rapidly growing demand for entrepreneurship education.

This program highlights the evolutionary process of building a student business incubation program, as part of a K-14 student entrepreneurship education pipeline, in partnership with institutions of higher education. Student business incubators as accelerators for new venture creations is featured

MICHIGAN

A Philip Randolph Career and Technical Center
Detroit Public Schools,
The Ultimate Boutique

Arlene Greene-Gibson, Program Manager
Fashion Marketing/Retail Management/Entrepreneurship
A Philip Randolph Career and Technical Center
Detroit Public Schools
24790 Plumridge Lane
Southfield, MI 48034
248-350-9470
Fax: 313-494-7114
Email: AGFASHION@msn.com

Focus: An instructional program that prepares individuals to perform marketing and management functions and tasks in retail establishment, wholesale establishments, and manufacturing firms engaged in marketing clothing and related articles for personal wear and adornment.

Geographic Area: Detroit schools

Products and Services: The Ultimate Boutique, a real business operation, is an integral component of the Fashion Marketing/Retail Management Program.

Age Level: Students in grades 9–12 who have selected a fashion management/entrepreneurial career path.

Abstract: This two-year program prepares students to perform marketing and management function and tasks for careers in fashion merchandising. Second-year students are exposed to entrepreneurship education standards via research in their respective career pathway utilizing DECA's Merit Award Program.

The program's school store laboratory, the Ultimate Boutique, is an integral component to the curriculum. It provides a real upscale business operation. Students are exposed to all phases of store operations, such as management, financing, market information management, buying, budgeting considerations, determining prices, product service planning, promotion, and more. The business, whose major target audience consists of the Detroit Public School students, teachers, and administrators, helps fashion associates develop the necessary skills for success in the fields of marketing, merchandising, and entrepreneurship.

Bay Arenac ISD Career Center

Susan Curtiss, Instructor
Bay Arenac ISD Career Center
4155 Monitor Road
Bay City MI 48706
989-667-8906
Fax 989-684-6299
Email: curtiss@baisd.net
Web site: http://www.baisd.net

Focus: Marketing & Management Technical Academy for high school juniors and seniors.

Abstract: The Academy is an exciting partnership program designed for students to learn professional Marketing and Entrepreneurial skills. It is a two-year program for high school juniors and seniors that attend the Bay Arenac ISD Career Center. Marketing & Management Technical Academy I provides students with the business and entrepreneurial skills necessary to prepare students for mid-level marketing careers. The development of human relations, leadership, communications, and team building skills is emphasized. The students rotate through various mentorship experiences to gain the knowledge and skills necessary in this occupational area.

Marketing & Management Technical Academy II curriculum is in depth and specialized. Students select an area of specialization (for example, entrepreneurship) to research the first semester. They develop a thirty-page business plan or E-commerce project and submit this for DECA competition. The second semester, students are ona paid intrnship in their specialized area.

The Marketing & Management Technical Academy is located in the Bay City Mall. The program partners with 11 sending high schools and Delta Community College. Also a working partnership has been developed with 68 area businesses. These businesses offer two wekk mentorship sites, three to four times per year, as well as tours, guest speakers, advisory board members, and DECA judges. The classroom consists of a computer lab and lecture area. Display windows that change every two weeks flank the entrance. This offers an excellent experience for the students to showcase their visual merchandising skills and interact with the mall merchants.

Students are able to articulate up to 22 business college credit hours for Delta Community College after completing two years in the program. One graduate now attends Northwood University on a full tuition scholarship. Program experiences have also enabled students to be successful in district and state DECA competitions.

BizE Youth Business Education

Angela Egner, Executive Director
BizE Youth Business Education Programs
2155 Crestline Drive
Burton, MI 48509
810-744-1173
Email: nowgetbize@aol.com

Focus: Multi-level, curriculum-linked young entrepreneur and inventor programs.

Geographic Area: Michigan

Products and Services: Student Programs (Work texts and Instructor Manuals)

Abstract: BizE is a new young entrepreneur/inventor initiative developed by Angela Egner and being piloted at three Michigan schools through a partnership with the Genesee Area Focus Council.

BizE's innovative curriculum is designed to facilitate the development of entrepreneurial know-how while honing academic skills. BizE is comprehensive in that it provides multi-grade level curriculum that may be implemented sequentially or as standalone programs. The curriculum may begin as early as third grade and continue through high school, with distinct course content, skill-development, and teaching techniques at each level. Action-packed and engaging, the curriculum is fresh, fun, and powerful.

Recognizing the importance of technology development in America's free enterprise system, BizE has also developed a specific program called Invent, Inc., which uniquely combines entrepreneurship with the invention process.

BizE materials were developed with the intense involvement of a team of teacher consultants involved in the pilot effort. Its lessons have been mapped to the Michigan Curriculum Framework, as well as national economic education standards.

All BizE programs will be available in two formats (20 and 40 hours) to meet a wide-range of instructional formats, timetables and needs. Detailed lesson plans and rubrics are provided for various requirements, including classroom, after-school, summer program or camp formats. Additionally, BizE provides superb instructor workshops and onsite planning support.

BizE will be offered to other Michigan schools in 2003 and available nationally in 2004.

Student Programs (Work texts and Instructor Manuals) are as follows:

• Show 'N Sell (Level 1: Grades 3 - 6) Elementary youth are introduced to entrepreneurship with the creation of a themed classroom business that makes and markets its products or services. Production and marketing are emphasized. Strong vocabulary, reading, research and math curriculum connections.
• Invent, Inc. (Level 2: Grades 5 - 8+) Upper elementary and middle-school youth engage in the invention process as they explore entrepreneurship. Students are organized into themed teams that invent marketable products. Heavy science concentration, with math and writing also emphasized.
• Venture-Out (Level 3: Grade 7-10+) Young teens discover their own abilities, opportunities, and ambitions as they develop independent businesses. Business planning, marketing and finance are emphasized, with academic skill development in all curriculum areas.

All BizE programs will be available in two formats (20 and 40 hours) to meet a wide-range of implementation formats, timetables and needs. Detailed lesson plans and rubrics are provided for various requirements, including classroom, after-school, summer program or camp formats.

Commerce in the Classroom Workshop: One-day orientation to youth entrepreneurship education and BizE programs for teachers, administrators, agency staff, and other educators. Includes Biz Basics business and economics instruction.

Get BizE: BizE Program Planning Workshop: Two-day onsite workshop. First day is "Commerce in the Classroom" customized for the site's implementation efforts. The second day is a facilitated program planning and implementation workshop. Lesson plans are reviewed in detail to ensure the instructional staff is confidently prepared to implement the program.

Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan Generation E Entrepreneurship Education

Don Mercer, CEO of Community Action Agency (CAA) of South Central Michigan
Cheryl Peters, Generation E Coordinator
Community Action Agency
175 E. Main, PO Box 1026
Battle Creek, MI 49016
(269) 965-7766
(269) 441-1324
1-877-422-2726
Fax: (269) 965-1152
Email: donm@caascm.org
Email: cherylp@caascm.org

Focus: Curriculum developed for middle and high school students providing experiential entrepreneurship learning experiences at all grade levels.

Geographic Area: Michigan

Products and Services: Middle school and high school curriculums written based on the National Content Standards and Benchmarks. Continuing Education course offered at Kellogg Community College.

Key Partners: Battle Creek Public Schools, Albion Public Schools, Branch Area Careers Center, Lakeview Public Schools, Kellogg Community College and the Community Action Agency.

Abstract: Generation E is an entrepreneurship education program designed to bring training and experiences to youth. Originally funded by grants from the Coleman Foundation and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the vision was to eliminate the culture of poverty, replace it with the entrepreneurial spirit, and thereby improve the economy of the local area and Michigan.

The Generation E curriculum was written to provide experiential learning experiences to youth. There are separate curriculums developed for middle and high school, with additional curriculums being developed for technology centers and community college level study.

This curriculum is taught as a 3 week unit, a 6 week unit or a semester class. All students have the experience of operating their own business (or a partnership), developing their concept, advertising their product/service, producing their product and culminating in the sale or offering the service within their school and/or community. In addition, this curriculum is written so that it can be incorporated into any classroom where the teacher wishes to expose students to the skills needed to become an entrepreneur.

Detroit Public Schools

Rosalind E. Denning
Entrepreneurship 2000
Project Coordinator
Detroit Public Schools
5057 Woodward Suite 914
313-494-2196
Fax: 313-494-1132
rosalind.denning@detroit k12.org

Focus: entrepreneurship as a career option for high school students

Age Level: 10th - 12 grade

Geographic Area: Detroit, Michigan

Sponsors: Partners in this project are Bank One and New Detroit, Inc.

Abstract: Detroit Public Schools is committed to providing youth with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to include business ownership as a viable career option. To accomplish this, programs have been designed and implemented to provide students with an understanding about running a business as an entrepreneur.

This program exposes 10th through 12th grade students in Empowerment Zone schools to the concepts and practices necessary to operate a small business. Preparation through academic and technical training integrated with small business models represents the programs primary focus. Students are provided hands-on opportunities through incubator businesses to sell products and fiscally manage a business. Through the use of mentors, students receive additional guided practice and advice on entrepreneurial related topics. Entrepreneurship 2000 students are expected to:

• Design a product or service related to Career and Technical Education.
• Practice the needed steps to develop, market and fiscally manage a business.
• Establish a line of credit through saving proceeds from the sale of a product or service.
• Understand the value of utilizing available resources through mentor relationships.
• Acquire a mindset of self-sufficiency.

The courses involved in this training are: Foods and Nutrition, Clothing, Office Technology, Printing and Graphics and Child Care.

Girl Scouts, Fair Winds Council

Tui J Roper, Entrepreneurial Education Specialist
Girl Scouts, Fair Winds Council
2029-C South Elms Road
Swartz Creek, MI 48473
810-230-0244
Fax: 810-230-0955
Email: troper@fwgsc.org

Focus: Entrepreneurial education and financial literacy for girls in K–12 grades.

Geographic Area: Genesee, Shiawassee, Oakland, and Lapeer Counties of Michigan.

Age Level: Girls age 5 through 18

Abstract: We are developing an age-appropriate entrepreneurial education and economic empowerment curriculum for girls grade K–12. Last year we served over 400 girls in the counties surrounding the city of Flint. We would like to expand this program and train other Girl Scout Councils across the country. To date, this is the only formal entrepreneurial education program within a Girl Scout council.

All programs target females from all racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. We also offer special programs that target teen moms and bilingual migrant students.

Description of the programs:

• Business Fun—Camp 0' Fair Winds: Two-week business camp for girls in grades 4–6. The business curriculum teaches the young girls how to start a business, create a business plan, and find financing options, as well as increase their self-esteem through high ropes and climbing walls.
• Camp $tart-Up—The Timbers Camp: Two-week business camp for girls in grades 7–12. The business curriculum integrates teaching material from Independent Means, Inc. Local businesswomen interact with the girls and assist them in creating a business plan, and learning economic empowerment.
• Teen Mom Program; Eigh-week educational series during the school day for teen moms, teaching business ownership, writing a business plan, and resources to get started.

Miscellaneous programs: Various workshops and programs are offered throughout the school year to Brownies and Girl Scouts, as well as non-Girl Scouts. The objectives of these programs are to (1) make girl-oriented economic education accessible to the community at large, (2) increase the economic literacy skills of the girl participants, and (3) provide women business owners as role models to young girls.

GASC Technology Center
Entrepreneurship . . . Vocational Style

Michael D Crawford, Instructor, GASC Technology Center
G5081 Torrey Road
Flint, MI 48507
810-760-1444, x236
Fax: 810-760-7759
Email: CRAWFMIC@gasc.flint.k12.mi.us

Focus: High school programs

Abstract: Entrepreneurship has been the focus of a program at GASC Technology Center in Flint, Michigan for a number of years. The program teaches juniors and seniors all the aspects of preparing and writing a business plan. Students present the plan to a business panel for approval. A unique feature of the program in the in-school incubator, where students offer various products and services to students in their break times.

Ishpeming High School

Lisa Mongiat, Teacher
Business, Marketing Teacher
Ishpeming High School
319 E Division Street
Ishpeming MI 49849
906-485-1066
Fax 906-485-4750
Email: mongiat@aol.com

Focus: High School Students

Abstract: REAL Entrepreneur is a two semester class. Students who have taken the class may sign up for it again to continue where they left off the previous time. This class is designed to develop entrepreneurial talent, knowledge, skills and attitudes and guides the student through the process of planning, creating, and operating a small business of their own design using experiential (hands-on) learning. It mirrors the real world.

This will be its fourth year of operation. The class as a whole plans, organizes and operates a school store which is housed in the new gym, a student credit union, which is a full-service credit union open to students, faculty and alumni, and a small business service center located in our downtown. Students have the opportunity to learn a position or positions in any of these businesses. Students signing up for the second year of entrepreneurship will enforce the skills they learned previously by "training in" the new students in the positions of the businesses. Then the second year students will learn another aspect of the business.

Second and third year students may also open and operate their own business upon completion of a community analysis and business plan. This is not a requirement, but an opportunity available through the class based on their business plan idea and approval of the teacher and school. Students who open their own businesses will gain valuable knowledge for their future. They will be partnered with a business leader in our community to mentor and assist them through the process, along with classroom assistance and training.

Many students have had the opportunity to own and operate their own businesses through this program. Student businesses have included: web page design, hand made jewelry, a dance studio, historical walking tour, homework service, desktop publishing, and personal shopping service to name a few. As in real life the student businesses may be successful or not successful, but either way the students gain valuable experiences about real-life business for their future.

Lisa Mongiat has been teaching at the Ishpeming High School for five years. She is the business education teacher co-op, intern and career prep coordinator and Business Professionals of America .

Michigan REAL Enterprises

Ms. Judy Chapman
Mr. Brad Wagner
School of Business & Economics
Michigan Tech University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49311
906-487-2669
Fax: 906-487-7863
Email: jachapma@mtu.edu
Email: bwwagner@mtu.edu
Web site: http://www.sbea.mtu.edu/sbe/REAL/index.html

Focus: Experiential entrepreneurship education for elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as community colleges and adult entrepreneurship programs. Also adaptable for after-school, out-of-school, and camp contexts.

Geographic Area: Michigan

Products and Services: Comprehensive professional development program for instructors (institutes, in-service seminars, site visits); experiential, activity-based entrepreneurship curricula with integrated technology and student workbooks for high school/post-secondary ("REAL entrepreneurship") and elementary/middle schools ("Mini/Middle REAL"); materials and support for establishing successful local programs; targeted entrepreneurship development modules for displaced workers; evaluation and documentation of student demographics, learning outcomes, and business development results; School-Based Enterprise module/training.

Age Level: Children (grades 5-8), youths (grades 9-12), and adults of all ages

Key Partners: National REAL Enterprises, Michigan Tech University. At the local level: entrepreneurs, small business assistance providers, and community development advocates through a community support team created by each local program.

Abstract: Founded in the early 1980s, REAL Enterprises' mission is to help individuals, schools, communities, and rural America grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. REAL is committed to preparing youths and adults to be active, self-sufficient, and productive citizens and effective contributors to community and economic development by: creating and sustaining a national network of dynamic entrepreneurship educators supported by effective member organizations, providing high-quality hands-on entrepreneurship curriculum and training for K-16 educators; advocating for experiential education and entrepreneurship; and documenting REAL's effectiveness for students and teachers. REAL serves and supports schools and teachers through nonprofit national and member organizations throughout the United States, six of which serve states in the ARC service region.

How it Works: At the high school/post-secondary level, REAL guides students through the process of creating small businesses of their own design. The process includes:

• self-assessment to determine students' potential and existing marketable strengths
• community analysis to identify needs and trends in the local economy
• researching/writing a comprehensive business plan for a student's chosen enterprise
• start-up support for participants who choose to open and operate enterprises.

A community support team of entrepreneurs and others from the local community assists each local program. REAL has been successfully integrated into existing post-secondary degree/certificate programs and has demonstrated its ability to create successful businesses.

In elementary and middle schools, Mini/Middle REAL helps students explore entrepreneurship in the context of a fully functioning in-school community (with a "Merchant's Mall," government, revenue, and court system), understand the economic implications of career and lifestyle choices, and apply entrepreneurial practices to school-based enterprises and community needs.

SouthField-Lathrup Senior High School

Veda Cook
Marketing Instructor/Deca Advisor
SouthField-Lathrup Senior High School
19301 West Twelve Mile
Southfield, MI 48076
248-746-2312
Fax: 248-746-7665

Geographic Area: Michigan

Age Level: 9th-12th Grade

Abstract: As a recipient of the Kauffman Entrepreneurship Chapter grant, this high school has added Entrepreneurship as one of the electives of their very popular Marketing program for high school students. The program runs a school store that has been expanded into a coffee shop.

Western International High School
Office Technology and Entrepreneurship

Jane A Turner, Office Technology Manager/Instructor
Career and Technical Education Department
Western International High School
Room 111
1500 Scotten Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209
313-849-4758, x2075
Fax: 313-494-1015
Email: JTurner007@aol.com

Focus: High school business education program

Abstract: Western International High School is a multi-cultural high school located in Southwest Detroit. It is located in an Empowerment Zone district. Students in grades 10 - 12 must complete a basic business course before acceptance in the Office Technology Program. The Office Technology program provides students with computer and office occupation skills that wil enable them to operate a small desktop publishing business, or obtain entry-level employment in the office occupation field.

The program provides students with the necessary skills to successfully manage and operate a small business upon graduation from high school. The students create a business plan and that plan is the basis for the desktop publishing business. In addition to operating a desktop publishing firm, the curriculum enables students to utilize previously learned computer application skills and to enhance those skills.

MINNESOTA

Humboldt Senior High School
H.A.W.K (Humboldt Agricultural Working Kids) Company—Product Development

Rebecca Sauser Christopherson, Family and Consumer Sciences Instructor
Diane Schroepfer, Science Instructor
Humboldt Senior High School
30 East Baker Street
Saint Paul, MN 55107
651-293-8600
Fax: 651-293-8605
Email: rebecca.christopherson@spps.org
diane.schroepfer@spps.org
Web site: http://www.spps.org/Humboldt/home.html

Focus: Entrepreneurship project-based opportunity for urban youth

Age level: Grades 9–12

Abstract: H.A.W.K. Company is an entrepreneurship project-based opportunity for urban youth to research, develop, produce, and sell a value-added agricultural product. It is team-taught by both a family and consumer sciences instructor and a science teacher/facilitator, with cooperation from every department in the school, which gives the course a truly cross-disciplinary approach. Each teacher involved brings a unique business perspective to the course. The students operate the company based on directives from their elected board of directors, which has participation from school administration, the school board, the community, parents, students, and business partners. The class meets six of the Minnesota Graduation Standards over a three-year period.

Special students served include inner-city, urban youth grades 9 through 12, with 78 percent persons of color equally distributed between Hispanic, African American, and Asian; multicultural and diverse; 75 percent free and reduced- lunch recipients; cross-section of regular and special-needs students; difficult to motivate students and underachievers. A great group of students to work with!

Students have developed salable products including dill dip, salsa mix, soybean snack mix, and native flowers. They intend to build the program to the extent where any student can develop their own idea for a product to be brought to market. They want to share their ideas, thoughts, and findings from this coursework by attending or demonstrating their knowledge at conferences, conventions, and meetings, or by Web sites, videoconferencing, and other technologies. Students are developing lifelong business skills with this project based class.

Susan B Anthony Community Middle School

Jeanne Morford, Teacher
Anthony Middle School
5757 Irving Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55419
612-668-3240
Fax: 612-668-3250
Email: jmorford@visi.com

Focus: Middle school entrepreneurship course

Abstract: This is the third year that the Owning Your Own Business class has been offered as a semester elective at Anthony Middle School, which is part of the Minneapolis Public School System. Each class has served as least 25 students. The main curriculum used comes from NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship) materials.

Local entrepreneurs are invited in weekly to speak to students and answer their questions. Every student is required to complete their own business plan and present their plan to a panel of judges from the community. A local business called MEDA (Metropolitan Economic Development Association—a nonprofit organization that helps adults start their own business—provides volunteers to act as consultants to the students.

Students learn the basic skills required to complete a business plan, as well as negotiating and bookkeeping skills. In addition, students learn how to calculate costs and expenses and how to manage their time and market their business ideas. Students not only learn the basics of starting a business but also have the opportunity to develop their communication and presentation skills, as they are required to verbally and graphically present their business plan. With the help of the financial services community, students visit the trading floor of a major brokerage firm and have a segment on basic investing. Students also play a stock market game by selecting stocks and monitoring their investments.

Presently the OYOB program is the only entrepreneurship program being taught at any level in the Minneapolis Public School System. This program requires substantial additional outside funding, as we receive no money from Minneapolis Public Schools. All funding comes from the business community; we are required to raise all funds needed to teach this program. I have done so by writing grants and explaining my program to members of the business community. In the long term, I would like to be a mentor for teachers in the Minneapolis school district who are interested in teaching entrepreneurship.

Women in Community Service

Becky A Cole, Volunteer Advisor
Women in Community Service
515 E Grant St., #305
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-359-0897
Email: beckycole@juno.com
Web site: www.wics.org

Focus: Economically disadvantaged youth

Products and Services: Training

Age Level: Youths interested in starting a business

Key Partners: Community-based volunteer program

Abstract: This entrepreneurial training program is a part of the services of a community-based organization called Women in Community Service. It attracts economically disadvantaged youth, including but not limited to students who have been in the federal Job Corps program.

The program is designed to teach entrepreneurial skills as well as provide an incubator-type setting, where applicable, to develop products and services for the participants to market. It emphasizes becoming involved in community groups such as Toastmasters, BPW, Jaycees, etc., to develop additional marketing skills. The program provides resources on an ongoing basis.

MISSOURI

Clayton High School

Cindy Herman, Chairman
PA and Technology Department
School District of Clayton - Clayton High School
#1 Mark Twain Circle
Clayton, MO 63105
314-726-2575
Fax: 314-726-4903
Email: Cynthia_herman@clayton.k12.mo.us
Web site: http://www.chs.clayton.k12.mo.us/academic/PracArts/PABus.htm

Focus: high school program

Abstract: The goal of the Clayton School District is to recognize individual differences and to provide each child with a positive and complete educational experience. The district participates in the voluntary transfer program with the City of St. Louis. Clayton High School serves a diverse population of students that includes children who speak 28 different languages and originate from 30 different countries. This is due in part to the presence of a major university, a college, and a seminary within the District's boundaries. Entrepreneurship serves this diverse population. The class is a mixture of various races and nationalities. It also serves Special School District and English as Second Language students.

Most students may not start their own business but I still feel that it is essential that they be exposed to the idea and learn what is involved. This experience will help them have a better understanding of business. For this class, all of my students prepare a prospectus to start a new business. They go through the entire process from selecting a location, to developing a product, studying the market, identifying customers, selecting location, looking at legal restrictions, developing promotion, and determining financing.

Clayton's program is quite unique. The class meeting schedule is different from most schools. All classes are one semester in length. All the students enrolled in a particular class meet together one morning before school. Students then come to small group sessions during their lunch hour on either A or B days. This type of scheduling allows for great flexibility when working with the students as a whole group or working with a small group of students in the informal lunch sessions (students bring in their lunch and eat during class). This type of schedule was initiated because it was difficult for students to fit the classes into their schedule. 98% of the students who graduated from CHS in 2000 went to college and a majority of our students take AP/Honors courses. In 2000, 289 AP tests were taken with 86% passing with a score of 3, 4, or 5. (Leading Educational Indicators of Student Success, 1999-2000 Assessment Study, Clayton School District) This type of flexible schedule allows students to take the courses in our program.

Several of my students have actually used their prospectus to gain financing and are now operating their own business. Another way that the impact of our program on student achievement can be seen is through the college admissions and career selections of our students. As previously stated, 98% of our students went on to college. Of the students enrolled in our program last year, all students were admitted to college and the vast majority of those students were intending to declare business as their major.

My program was also featured as a cover story on Channel 5. This generated a great deal of discussion in the community and many positive responses from parents. In the story, I was interviewed about the program, my classroom and its activities were featured, and individual students were also interviewed.

Another innovative activity that is conducted is the New York Field Trip. The philosophy of our trip is to provide students with meaningful access to the leading professionals in the marketing, management, and entrepreneurship fields, as well as exposure to the realities of the business environment. The purpose of the trip is to educate and enrich students by effectively extending the realm of the classroom. The trip that we take includes seminars and workshops with some of the world's leading designers, boutique owners, and store owners. All the seminar leaders are open and honest about the realities of their field in terms of salaries, competition, training required and career opportunities. Students come away from the seminars with very deep and rich impressions of the various entrepreneurial opportunities. In some cases, students have determined more clearly whether or not they would like to pursue a certain career.

We also work with the AAJM Management Association, Xerox, and the St. Louis Rams Foundation to take students on field trips and seminars through the Future Executives program. Students participate in a monthly activity where they have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of business needs and see on an individual basis how business functions on a day-to-day basis. Students visit with entrepreneurs at both large and small businesses.

Crowder College
Student Corporation... Organized, Directed, and Operated by Students!

Sherry McCormack, Business Professor
Crowder College
601 Laclede Dr.
Neosho, MO 64850
417-451-3223, Ext. 324
Email: smccorma@crowdercollege.net

Focus: Community college multidisciplinary program

Geographic Area: Crowder Community College District

Products and Services: Varies depending on the resources available and the needs of the college

Age Level: College students

Abstract: Crowder College administration and faculty joined to create the framework for a company organized and operated by students from all areas on campus. This multidisciplinary approach includes programs with the following types of degrees: associate of arts, associate of science, associate of applied science, and certificate programs.

Fort Osage Career and Technology Center,
Entrepreneurial Studies Program

Carol J Bolin, Teacher/Coordinator
Fort Osage Career and Technology Center
2101 North Twyman Road
Independence, MO 64058
816-795-3305
Fax: 816-795-3302
Email: cbolin@fortosage.k12.mo.us

Focus: High school vocational program

Abstract: The Entrepreneurial Studies Program serves high school seniors from Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Fort Osage, Independence (Truman and Chrisman), Blue Springs, and Blue Springs South. The program is a course designed to assist students with the essentials of planning, starting, and operating a business. Students will also learn about the rewards and challenges of small business management, finance, staff, technology, and the management processes necessary for success through classroom training, practical experience, and an internship.

The program is a joint venture with the Simon Youth Foundation and the school districts. They are located in the Independence Center mall. Students get the opportunity to work with managers and upper managers to experience the challenges they will face in running a business.

The Learning Exchange—Exchange City

Executive Director
The Learning Exchange
3132 Pennsylvania
Kansas City, MO 64111
816-751-4100 or 800-754-4414

Focus: Middle school students experience economics and entrepreneurship

Abstract: The mission of the Learning Exchange is to enable educators to imagine, investigate, and create new visions of teaching and learning to prepare students for our rapidly changing world. Exchange City is a hands-on learning experience for fifth and sixth graders about economics and entrepreneurship. The curriculum is presented in four progressive stages.

First, teachers, parents, and volunteers attend on-site training workshops. Next, students study a six-week classroom course about basic economic concepts. Everyone then travels to Exchange City for a day-long simulation where they play the roles of business owners, employees, consumers, and government officials. Afterwards, students complete an additional two weeks of classroom study.

Exchange City was created in 1980, and has graduated over 200,000 students from its two sites in Kansas City. Some 7,000 students participate in Exchange City in Indianapolis, the first replication site of a national licensing partnership with Junior Achievement, Inc.

McCluer North High School
Teaching Entrepreneurship in Block Scheduling

Susan Benassi, Entrepreneurship and Business Educator
McCluer North High School
705 Waterford Drive
Florissant, MO 63033
314-506-9301
Email: scbenassi@yahoo.com

Focus: High school students

Abstract: Are teachers and administrators in your school district exploring alternative schedules? What will happen if you are drawn away from the traditional 50-minute class period? With change comes challenge and opportunity! Discover many effective teaching strategies designed for block schedules. Learn how entrepreneurship students have a chance to get more involved with learning, and explore how class topics can be covered in greater depth within the block.

Susan Benassi has captured the entrepreneurial spirit at McCluer North High School, where she has taught for nearly 18 years. She has enthusiastically taught her junior and senior business students that entrepreneurship can be fun, while shifting from traditional to block scheduling in the 1999–2000 school year. Her goal is to motivate and encourage her students to create, grow, and expand successful businesses both domestically and globally.

She is glad to discuss ideas for engaging students through interaction, movement, and transitions.

Northwest High School
Entrepreneurship in Marketing and Business Education

Katrina M. Priese, Marketing and Business Educator
Northwest High School
P.O. Box 500
House Springs, MO 63051
636-274-0555, x723
Fax: 636-274-2076
E-mail: priese@in-1ink.com

Focus: Vocational/marketing education program and entrepreneurship

Age Level: 11th and 12th grade

Abstract: Students in 11th or 12th grade may enroll. There are no prerequisites, but access to a computer is required. This semester-long class starts with an overview of entrepreneurship, including definitions, cases, and characteristics. After a brief introduction to economics, students begin developing a business plan that can be used to obtain financing and win suppliers, prospective employees, and customers. This is achieved using a step-by-step format, completing a project, and answering questions for each section. At the end of the semester, students correct and resubmit the plan in its entirety for final evaluation.

Students may easily format their class business plan into a written project for DECA competition. Students also get opportunity to speak with entrepreneurs through guest speakers and assignment formats. Opportunities exist to attend a chamber of commerce meeting, and to learn about various careers in areas such as property management, insurance, accounting, commercial banking, etc. There is no textbook, so all materials are generated by instructor through print, Internet, and actual company materials. An advisory board is used to lend authenticity.

Priese has a firm belief that this type of education is the most valuable type, because it promotes free enterprise, student individuality, and good self-esteem, and applies core learning to student-based interests.

Saint Louis University
Jefferson Smurfitt Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Dr. Jerome Katz,
Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship and Director
Jefferson Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies,
Saint Louis University,
3674 Lindell Blvd.,
St. Louis, MO 63108,
(314)977-3826
Email: katz@slu.edu
Web site: http://www.slu.edu/centers/jsces/index.html
Web site: http://www.eweb.slu.edu

Focus: University-based leader in entrepreneurship education

Abstract: The Jefferson Smurfitt Center for Entrepreneurial Studies takes a leading role in promoting entrepreneurship and small business on local, national and international levels. The goal of the Center is to help improve economic life and the success of small business around the globe.

SLU's entrepreneurship program, in the management department in the John Cook School of Business, was ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine in the top tier of regional universities with comprehensive entrepreneurial programs. SLU's program was also ranked in the top three by other entrepreneurship program directors around the country. SLU entrepreneurship program has also been ranked in the top 20 in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

The SLU undergraduate entrepreneurship program is always named as one of the best in the country. In addition, the Jefferson Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies provides resources and promotes small business development on a national level. The Center also administers the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, which recognize college students who also own and run their own businesses.

The Center was established in 1987 by Dr. Robert H. Brockhaus. At the same time the Center became the World Headquarters for the International Council for Small Business .

In 1990 they received an endowment from Jefferson Smurfit Corporation and received a Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship endowed 1991. The Center is active on campus and in the community in support of various types of entrepreneurship education as follows:

• Co-host of the 1993 Family Business Educator's Conference
• 1994 winner of national model program award by United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Host of the 1995 Family Firm Institute Conference
• Success Magazine in 1996 and 1998 ranked graduate entrepreneurship program #6 in country and faculty #1 in country
• Success Magazine in 1997 ranked graduate entrepreneurship program in Top 25 in country and faculty #1 in country
• U.S. News & World Report ranked graduate program #21 in country

• Courses are taught by Dr. Robert Brockhaus and Dr. Jerome Katz as well as "entrepreneurs in residence" who co-teach and offer a unique perspective. An emphasis in entrepreneurship on the undergraduate and graduate level is available for the B.S.B.A. and M.B.A. degree programs, respectively.

• They provide leadership for the Gateway Research Conference, an annual research conference begun in 1987 to address topics of interest to researchers in the entrepreneurship field. Popularity and relevancy of this conference led to its hosting by universities throughout the United States and Canada.
• North American Collegiate Entrepreneur™ Award Annual contest begun in 1988 in Missouri and recently expanded to North America for college students concurrently owning and operating a small business. Students compete at the state level, with winners continuing on to the national level for a first place prize of $5,000. See the website for further information. http://nace.slu.edu
• Family Firm Forum (FFF). A membership program begun in 1994 for area family-owned businesses to address issues pertinent to them and assure their success for future generations. (See the website for further information. http://www.slu.edu/centers/jsces/fff/ This family business program works closely with local firms, learning their needs and providing the kind of education that will keep them economically viable. Established in 1994, the FFF provides a stimulating setting for family businesses to develop strategies for growth. Each year has provided a building block of information with successive year's topics dealing with contemporary and timely issues of family businesses.
• Student Activities. The entrepreneurship student club is open to students of all majors, not just the School of Business. A local SIFE Chapter (Students in Free Enterprise) and CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) are represented on campus. Activities include volunteering at inner city schools, awareness of entrepreneurship and small business, various sale ventures, and social activities such as BBQ's, hay rides, swim parties, etc. Participation and competition at regional conferences of SIFE and CEO have met with 1st Runner Up and Rookie of the Year Awards in recent years.
• Distinguished Lecturer in Entrepreneurship. J.W. Kisling, Chairman of Multiplex Company. The purpose of this position is to provide an avenue whereby students and faculty of the School of Business and Administration can benefit from the knowledge and expertise of individuals who have attained notable success in their business careers, and who are deeply committed to excellence in university-level education. Mr. Kisling teaches, conducts seminars, counsels students, conducts research, and writes and serves the school in a variety of other ways.

University of Missouri - St Louis
American Dream Youthpreneurship Program

Barbara Flowers
Associate Director
Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education
University of Missouri-St. Louis
One University Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63121
314-516-5561
Email: bflowers@umsl.edu

Focus: High school entrepreneurship education

Geographic Area: St. Louis metropolitan area

Products and Services: Teaching Entrepreneurship graduate course for high school teachers, Entrepreneurship Institute for high school students, Entrepreneurship Competition for high school students

Age Level: High school students

Sponsors: University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Council on Economic Education, and various community businesses and organizations

Abstract: Carpenter? Lawyer? Chemist? Entrepreneur! In the American Dream Youthpreneurship Program students realize entrepreneurship as a career alternative and see that any interest can present an opportunity for self-employment. The American Dream Youthpreneurship Program begins with teachers of any discipline learning the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and then integrating it into their curriculum. Students in these teachers’ classes attend the Entrepreneurship Institute. In the spring, they may enter the Entrepreneurship Competition, where they can compete for seed-money or scholarship awards.

Teacher Education

The program begins with a three-credit graduate course offered over one week in August and continued throughout the fall semester with ten to twelve hours of class and meeting time. The course is offered to high school teachers throughout the St. Louis area regardless of the teacher’s discipline. Each teacher is required to incorporate entrepreneurship education into his or her class throughout the semester. Teachers are also required to submit an implementation plan for incorporating entrepreneurship into their curriculum, a journal recording the successes and challenges of their implementation plan and an evaluation device. Although these materials are not published, they are distributed to teachers in subsequent Teaching Entrepreneurship classes as guides in their own teaching. The course is taught by university faculty from the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education with selected entrepreneurs and experts in entrepreneurship education serving as guest lecturers.

Entrepreneurship Institute

This two-day institute is offered in late fall and is open to the participating teachers and the students enrolled in their classes. Students and teachers must attend both days. During the first day of the institute, students meet with area entrepreneurs, attend class to review the concepts of business development, and form groups to develop a business proposal and presentation. After refining their proposals and presentations for three weeks, students attend the second day of the institute where they again meet with entrepreneurs. They make their business presentations, first within their class of students. Small business development professionals and entrepreneurs are on hand to nominate those businesses that will go forward to present to the entire institute.

Entrepreneurship Competition

In the spring, student entrepreneurs assemble at the university to present their businesses to commercial loan officers, representatives of the Small Business Administration, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and other interested parties. In addition to these networking opportunities, a panel of judges chooses the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year and runners up in two separate divisions: scholarship and start-up. Student presentations consist of a description of their good or service, a sample of their product, their business plan, their marketing plan and any other information they deem necessary to sell their product idea. Students receive assistance in preparing their presentation from their teachers or other mentors.

Wellston School District
ABC=KIDS and CO. Project

Lorna Brown-Miller, Instructor
Wellston School District
2723 Allen Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63104
314-412-1708
Fax: 314-382-3115
Email: lornabmiller@yahoo.com

Focus: At-risk African-American minority students

Geographic Area: St Louis, MO

Products and Services: Teaching entrepreneurial skills

Age Level: Students from kindergarten to 12th grade

Key Partners: Wellston School District, the business community, college serving groups, senior volunteers, the community at large, the Jefferson-Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies housed on the St. Louis University campus, and the St. Louis Enterprise Community.

Abstract: The ABC (Attendance/Behavior/Character) = KIDS and CO. Project serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade, who have an active role in this program. Wellston School District has a population of 900 at-risk African-American minority students—living in an urban setting just recently declared an economic empowerment zone—who are impacted by this program's existence.

The ABC=KIDS and CO. Project's overall purpose is to teach entrepreneurial skills to at-risk youths from kindergarten through high school in the Wellston School District. The program:

• introduces low-income students to the world of business and entrepreneurship by teaching them how to develop a small business;
• enables students to learn the concepts of self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and a free market society
• provides basic educational skills, including reading, writing, math, social studies, and public speaking through entrepreneurship education;
• gives students the opportunity to develop and demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills and is a school-to-work transition opportunity.

The ABC=KIDS and CO. project provides opportunities for all participating students at each school to focus on improved Attendance (A), improved Behavior (B), and Character development (C) and to extend student learning beyond the classroom via opportunities to use academic skills and real-life knowledge to become mini-entrepreneurs in KIDS and CO.

This program is unique because it is the only one of its kind in our area that has a behavior modification component connected with it. We are the only entrepreneurial program that has been featured on the front page of our major newspaper, the Post-Dispatch (issued Friday, November 29, 1996). ABC=KIDS and CO. is a collaborative effort involving the Wellston School District, the business community, college serving groups, senior volunteers, the community at large, the Jefferson-Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies housed on the St. Louis University campus, and the St. Louis Enterprise Community.

MISSISSIPPI

Delta State University
Premier FastTrac

Michael Thompson, B. F. Smith Chair
Delta State University
Cleveland, MS 38733
601-846-4194

Focus: Four-year College/University

Abstract: Based in the Center for Economic Development at Delta State University, the FastTrac program in the Mississippi Delta has become an innovative program for encouraging entrepreneurship. FastTrac is a program of the Entrepreneurial Education Foundation, which is funded by private foundation resources through the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. The CEL was founded to serve as a catalyst for understanding, supporting, and accelerating entrepreneurship in America to fulfill the mission of self-sufficient people in "healthy" communities.

Premier FastTrac is two programs: FastTrac I, which assists potential entrepreneurs and FastTrac II, which is designed for individuals who already have a business. The FastTrac program is an educational process much like other courses in an educational setting; it is based on pertinent, logical, and timely business issues. The program helps launch or grow a business through practical business management skills used by leading entrepreneurial firms. All FastTrac programs combine interactive instruction with one-on-one coaching, peer learning, guest speakers, and comprehensive workbooks. FastTrac I is based on nine sessions where perspective entrepreneurs prepare a feasibility plan for their new business. FastTrac II is based on 11 sessions where entrepreneurs already in business receive information on strategies for business development and higher levels of success.

Over 16,000 entrepreneurs have graduated from programs in more than 30 states and Canada. Seventy-four percent of FastTrac program graduates are still operating profitably after six years. The program in the Mississippi delta began in 1995. During 1995–96, 75 people enrolled in the program, with 59 graduating. During 1996–97, 84 enrolled, with 74 completing the program.

Economic Alternatives
Small Business Development and Employment Resource

Sr. Noel LeClaire, Executive Director
395 North West Street
P.O. Box 5208
Holly Springs, MS 38634
662-252-1575
Fax: 662-252-6673

Focus: To assist minority individuals to explore options for employment.

Geographic Area: Primarily, but not exclusively, in Marshall County

Products and Services: Assistance for minority individuals

Age Level: Adults

Abstract: Economic Alternatives, established in 1994 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, was a concrete response to the employment needs in Marshall County. Marshall County, which borders Tennessee, at one time had one of the higher unemployment rates in the state. Only 25 percent of the population had a high school diploma or equivalent, and 6.3 percent of the population had a bachelor's degree.

Per capita income in 1992 was around $12,000, and in 1995 roughly 23.4 percent of the county's population lived below the poverty level. Comparatively, 20.2 percent of Mississippians lived below the poverty level that same year. Surrounded by other small, rural towns, Holly Springs, with its population of approximately 12,000, seemed to be in a downward spiral. Benton County, the eastern neighbor of Marshall, had an even more dismal outlook, partly due to the presence of a national forest and its impact on tax revenues. However, with three new plant openings in the past two years, the unemployment rate in Marshall County has dropped to 4.6 percent and Benton County to 4.8 percent.

Key Elements:
Business plan assistance
Financial resource referrals
Basic computer literacy classes
Individual referrals and job placement
Creation of a jobs skill directory
Small-business workshops
Partnerships with Small Business Development Center Network and Cooperative Extension
Mentorships
Through the Self Employment Loan Fund, Economic Alternatives provides low-interest loans between $500 and $2,500.

Gautier High School
Pascagoula Municipal Separate School District

Charlotte L Guy
Special Education Teacher
Gautier High School
4307 Gautier - Vancleave Road
Gautier, MS 39553
228-522-8780
Fax: 228-522-8788
Email: gator5185@aol.com

Focus: Entrepreneurship education for students with disabilities

Abstract: The entrepreneurship education program is a tool that is preparing students with disabilities for the real world. The students in the program identify their interest through a process known as Person Center Planning. They identify how/where work is best performed, and support needs that may be necessary for them when working. This requires the teacher and support people to spend time doing things with the students that are typical. Support people are mentors from the regular classroom.

The mentors come into the classroom to help tutor the students, to teach socialization skills or other activities. Good discovery results in identifying and clarifying just why the student wishes to embark on owning and establishing his or her own business. In addition to learning how to set up a business, the students have learned how to manage money, banking skills, how to do paperwork, and reading skills have been incorporated into the program.

Some of the businesses started by students in the program include:

1. Soapy Gator Car Wash is owned by a student. The business is an auto detailing business that serves faculty and the community.
   
2. First Class Laundry washes, dries, folds, and irons clothes for the neighboring schools and the community.
   
3. Katherine's Coffee Cart is located on the campus of a local university. The coffee cart serves a variety of cookies and coffee for college students and faculty. There also has been collaboration with agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation, family, peers, and the community in making the owner's dreams become reality.
   
4. Gator Goodies is a project that promotes interest in the careers of baking, customer aservice and satisfaction as well as business management.
   
5. Gator Gift Shop makes gift cards and balloon bouquets for special occasions.

The program has provided a career opportunity for students who may never go to college. The entrepreneurial experience has been a way to upgrade the students' abilities to success as an employee as well as an entrepreneur. The program has also provided experience for the students to see new opportunities for their lives. The entrepreneur experience has empowered students with disabilities to become self-sufficient, independent, income-producing citizens of our community.

Mississippi REAL Enterprises

Dr. Nancy Boyll
Mississippi Community Education Center
PO Box 12347
Jackson, MS 39236
601-366-6405
Fax: 601-982-0080
Email: NNB0729@aol.com

Focus: Experiential entrepreneurship education for elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as community colleges and adult entrepreneurship programs. Also adaptable for after-school, out-of-school, and camp contexts.

Geographic Area: Mississippi

Products and Services: Comprehensive professional development program for instructors (institutes, in-service seminars, site visits); experiential, activity-based entrepreneurship curricula with integrated technology and student workbooks for high school/post-secondary ("REAL entrepreneurship") and elementary/middle schools ("Mini/Middle REAL"); materials and support for establishing successful local programs; targeted entrepreneurship development modules for displaced workers; evaluation and documentation of student demographics, learning outcomes, and business development results; School-Based Enterprise module/training.

Age Level: Children (grades 5-8), youths (grades 9-12), and adults of all ages

Key Partners: National REAL Enterprises. At the local level: entrepreneurs, small business assistance providers, and community development advocates through a community support team created by each local program.

Abstract: Founded in the early 1980s, REAL Enterprises' mission is to help individuals, schools, communities, and rural America grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. REAL is committed to preparing youths and adults to be active, self-sufficient, and productive citizens and effective contributors to community and economic development by: creating and sustaining a national network of dynamic entrepreneurship educators supported by effective member organizations, providing high-quality hands-on entrepreneurship curriculum and training for K-16 educators; advocating for experiential education and entrepreneurship; and documenting REAL's effectiveness for students and teachers. REAL serves and supports schools and teachers through nonprofit national and member organizations throughout the United States, six of which serve states in the ARC service region.

How it Works: At the high school/post-secondary level, REAL guides students through the process of creating small businesses of their own design. The process includes:

• self-assessment to determine students' potential and existing marketable strengths
• community analysis to identify needs and trends in the local economy
• researching/writing a comprehensive business plan for a student's chosen enterprise
• start-up support for participants who choose to open and operate enterprises.

A community support team of entrepreneurs and others from the local community assists each local program. REAL has been successfully integrated into existing post-secondary degree/certificate programs and has demonstrated its ability to create successful businesses.

In elementary and middle schools, Mini/Middle REAL helps students explore entrepreneurship in the context of a fully functioning in-school community (with a "Merchant's Mall," government, revenue, and court system), understand the economic implications of career and lifestyle choices, and apply entrepreneurial practices to school-based enterprises and community needs.

Mississippi State University Extension Service
Virtual Entrepreneurial Education & Training Project

Beth Duncan (Contact for Adult Programs)
Small Business Specialist
Mississippi State University Extension Service
Box 9642
Mississippi State, MS 39762
(662) 325-2160
Email: bethd@ext.msstate.edu
Web site: www.msucares.com

Linda Mitchell (Contact for Youth Programs)
Youth Technology and Special Programs Coordinator
Mississippi State University Extension Service
P.O. Box 2297
5338 Cliff Gookin Blvd.
Tupelo MS 38803
(601) 841-9000
Email: lindam@ext.msstate.edu
Web site: www.msucares.com

Focus: Teaching adult and youth entrepreneurs business and e-commerce skills.

Geographic Area: Initially the 22 ARC counties in Mississippi, now statewide.

Age Level: Middle school age youth through adults.

Key Partners: Appalachian Regional Commission, Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Abstract: The Mississippi State University Extension Service (MSU-ES) is addressing the needs of small businesses through the Virtual Entrepreneurial Education & Training Project. The Project is funded jointly by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and MSU-ES. The project has both adult and youth entrepreneurial components targeting entrepreneurs in ARC counties with an emphasis on business and e-commerce skill development. Several new economic development programs have been developed and implemented as a result of this joint effort.

Adult Entrepreneurial Training
An Entrepreneurship 101 course consisting of a series of four workshops was developed and implemented; the workshops include Basic Business Start-Up, Marketing Products & Services, Small Business Recordkeeping & Taxes, and Writing a Business Plan. The target audience is new and existing business owners.

A one-day "Electronic Retailing: Selling on the Internet" conference was developed for existing and new business start-ups that want to sell products and services to customers through a retail web site. The first conference was held at the Bost Conference Center located on the Mississippi State University main campus at Starkville, Mississippi and transmitted live through interactive video to five locations in the state (Cleveland, Jackson, Meridian, Summit, and Verona). Ninety-five people attended the conference. Two-thirds of the attendees represented businesses, one-sixth represented chambers of commerce and other government agencies, and one-sixth represented educators.

An in-depth specialized e-commerce training course, E-BIZ, for small businesses was developed and piloted in Spring 2001. The curriculum consists of four hands-on workshops as follows: Small Business E-Commerce Overview and Site Analysis, Web Store Development I, Web Store Development II, and Web Site Marketing.

As part of the project a case study was conducted. Participating in the case study was a single mother, minority entrepreneur who was on public assistance. She has grown her children's accessory business over the past 10 years and it has become quite profitable. She had been trying to establish an e-commerce site for her business for over two years and had not been successful in doing so until she became part of the ARC project. Through intensive one-on-one training, the project took her through the entire process of setting up her own electronic store on the Internet (www.cjsbows.com).

Initial plans for the development ofwww.mississippimarketplace.com are underway. The first phase of enlisting small businesses to participate is concentrated on the Mississippi Specialty Food Industry with expansion into additional product categories planned.

Youth Entrepreneurial Training

The Entrepreneurship Corps (E-Corps) is a group of youth from 10 counties that meet twice a month on a regular basis. The group is learning technology and entrepreneurial skills that enable them to publish a newsletter titled “This N That," which is supported through revenues the youth generate by selling ad space to local businesses. Other projects the group is involved in include designing and creating a web site for the Northeast Mississippi Fair in which they take photographs, conduct interviews and write articles for the web site; attending web page development and product development tranings; publishing a newsletter for presentation at the Congressional Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.; and presenting a youth entrepreneurship training workshop for youth, local school teachers and graduate students.

Mississippi State University, Regional Youth Entrepreneurship, Career & Research Exploration for Students and Teachers (CREST)

Dr. Sandra H. Harpole, Director
Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology
Mississippi State University
P O Box 6347
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-2922
Fax: 662-325-9524
Email: sharpole@ra.msstate.edu
Web site: http://csmt.msstate.edu

Focus: A consortium between industry and education was formed to provide an entrepreneurship workshop to develop leadership skills for youth and teachers in middle school.

Geographic Area: Choctaw, Clay, Oktibbeha and Leflore counties in Mississippi.

Products and Services: A multimedia company was formed to produce instructional and informational materials illustrating mine and power plant economics, career opportunities, and workforce basic skills and competencies. In addition, workshop participants received real world applications of science and mathematics and increased technological competency through skills acquired in developing multimedia materials.

Age Level: Middle grade children and adults.

Key Partners: Appalachian Regional Commission; Mississippi Lignite Mining Company, a North American Coal Corporation holding; Choctaw Generation LP, a Tractebel, Inc. company; Apple Computers; and Mississippi State University.

Abstract: During the summer of 2001, a three-week workshop was offered to seven teams of middle school students and teachers from Choctaw, Clay, Oktibbeha and Leflore counties in Mississippi. A total of seven teachers and eighteen students participated in the Regional Youth Entrepreneurship for Career and Research Exploration for Students and Teachers (CREST) workshop.

During the workshop instruction was given in establishing and developing the multimedia business. The participants learned how to design a plan of action and a business plan; to select a company name and a logo; to analyze the market to estimate the product's potential; to design the product; to develop a marketing strategy and an advertisement strategy; to address operational concerns such as location, facilities, equipment and production procedures; and, to consider personnel issues. They also learned about the financial stages of establishing a company: seed money; start-up money; and money for financial growth.

The participants were given the charge of establishing a company whose mission it is to design and produce multimedia materials that illustrate mine and power plant operations and economics. The participants selected six company divisions: the mining process; the Red Hills Mine; air quality; water quality; economic development, and wildlife and reclamation. Both company and divisional staff meetings were held to discuss the method and procedure for working on the multimedia materials and presentations. The student/teacher teams used a variety of technological tools such as PowerPoint, i-Movies, and Microsoft Word to design flyers, games, flash cards, presentations and movies to describe what they had learned and observed through lectures, tours, and hands-on activities.

Each company division selected a company name and designed a logo illustrating the company product. At a company meeting, a representative from each division presented their design and company name and the company name selected was IMPACT. IMPACT is an acronym for Impact of Mining on People and Community Today. IMPACT was chosen because the participants believed that the logo and name informed the citizens of Choctaw County and the surrounding communities of Red Hills Mine's impact on the community. Red Hills Mine affects the people, schools, economic development, local businesses and employment opportunities in Choctaw County and the surrounding environs.

Pass Road Elementary School

Claudia Freeman, Teacher
Pass Road Elementary School, Gulfport School District
37 Pass Road
Gulfport, MS 39507
228-867-6724
Email: freeman4kids@hotmail.com

Focus: Elementary school program

Geographic Area: Mississippi

Abstract: Is your class in a rut: Is it the same old routine…day after day? Do you ever think about doing something really different…something that will bring some life to your classroom? Come see and hear how a group of significantly learning disabled students and their teacher created a THRIVING classroom business utilizing the most common tools of technology in use today.

See how this local, state, and national award-winning project is allowing students to develop academic and technical skills, work-life skills, and human relation competencies for future success and lifelong learning. Learn how they are integrating the goals and objectives of their state curriculum in a way that brings learning to life and life to the learning process.

Tupelo Middle School
Enterprise in Action - (ARC Springboard Award Winner - 2002)

Jennifer Robison
Tupelo Middle School
1009 Varsity Drive
Tupelo MS 38801
662-840-8792
Email: robijb@tupelo.k12.ms.us
Web site: http://tms.tupeloschools.com

Focus: Middle School Junior Achievement

Abstract: Seventh and eighth grade students and teachers at Tupelo Middle School are using the Excel Technology SELECT program (Excel Tech), in combination with Junior Achievement's Enterprise in Action program, to help students develop advanced technology skills and then apply these skills in a number of entrepreneurial ways. Through Junior Achievement's Enterprise in Action program, and the use interactive business simulation software to model real world business experiences, students develop business skills and tools to create student-run enterprises.

Using their advanced tech skills, students perform many advanced technology duties for teachers, including computer installation, repair, setup, troubleshooting, and even training. Students also perform Internet searches, create PowerPoint presentations, program brochures, and flyers. In addition to “helping out”, the students have also created a business venture-a video yearbook that will be sold to the student body. The students are even marketing the video yearbook through a “commercial” that they created, which will be aired via television broadcasts in the school.

The students are also creating a school web site. In order to finance the web site project, the students created a calendar making business, using their knowledge of Microsoft Publisher They now provide personalized calendars for a $10 fee, scanning photos, importing them into software, printing and binding them, and managing the daily revenue. With the revenue, they have voted to hire a professional Microsoft FrontPage trainer from a local Internet service provider to help train them in web site development.

In addition to profit-making enterprises, the students also participate in community projects that are entrepreneurial in nature. The school purchased 20 laptops that were used by residents of a retirement community, with the Excel Tech students installing software and becoming tutors for the elderly population. In addition, the students purchased computer parts, assembled them into computers, and donated them to a local elementary school.

Site visits to high technology companies give students glimpses into the bigger world of entrepreneurship. They see how supply and demand works, learn about customer and business relations, and see the link between what they learn and technology used in private businesses. The students have an opportunity to apply what they've learned, to 'put it to the test.' In other courses, for example, you may study foreign languages, but you may not have a ch