Entrepreneurship Everywhere
Sample Entrepreneurship Education
Programs in the United States
SOUTH CAROLINA
Walhalla High School
(ARC Springboard Award Winner - 2002)
Harriet Templin, Instructor
Walhalla High School
151 Razorback Lane
Walhalla SC 29691
864-638-4582
Email: htemplin@oconee.k12.sc.us
Focus: Entrepreneurship education as a continuous process
Abstract: The Walhalla High School Entrepreneurship program promotes a climate for idea generation that leads to and connects with opportunity recognition. The program was begun in 1998, and now enrolls 48 students; in fact, 26 students were turned down in 2001 due to lack of an available period to teach the class! This year, over 40 new student businesses were created in the entrepreneurship program. One student business, Marketplace Restaurant, is now in its third year of operation, and five other student businesses have been operating for multiple years, including a goat farm and a produce stand.
The program has two course components. In Entrepreneurship I, students are engaged in higher order thinking activities and are challenged to "think out of the box." In Entrepreneurship II, students as a class develop a school-based business.
In Entrepreneurship I, students develop an Entrepreneurship Ledger to reflect their growing knowledge base. They research famous and local entrepreneurs, and identify entrepreneurial characteristics. Students develop a business idea and work alone or in groups to create a Business Venture Portfolio. Students present this Business Venture Portfolio to an EntreBoard, a community-based panel that interviews the student, views the portfolio, and determines whether the EntreBoard will provide resources to back the venture.
In Entrepreneurship II, students develop a school-based business as a class. Students are divided into committees to research all aspects of opening and operating a business: market survey, securing capital, bookkeeping, pricing, and inventory control. The business opens only after all research and planning are complete. The business is evaluated each week by the class; problems are addressed and necessary changes made.
WaIhalla High School is committed to entrepreneurship; it builds success among disenfranchised students, especially females from low-income families. Entrepreneurship is a great leveler; students from all programs work together, including those from honors programs, technical programs, college prep programs, ESL programs, exchange programs, and programs for students with learning disabilities.
An entrepreneurship component is now taught to all 9th grade students, introducing them to entrepreneurial thinking as soon as they arrive on the high school campus. Seven high school teachers have been trained in the tenets of entrepreneurship, and all three area elementary schools have been assisted in adding entrepreneurship as a component of their social studies curriculum.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Four Bands Community Fund
Cora Mae Haskell, Business and Finance Trainer
Four Bands Community Fund
P O Box 932
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
605-964-3687
Email: coramae@fourbands.org
Web site: www://fourbands.org
An important Lakota symbol is the circle, the foundation for the traditional house, the tipi. In the Lakota way, everything is circular in the journey of life and death. Time passes slowly in the full observation of life. People and nature live in concert with one another, rather than in a struggle for domination. The Lakota model behind Four Bands' work is called Icahya Woecun: the place to grow. It applies the Lakota tradition of movement in a circle with a beginning and an end, and yet is never ending. And it is based on the sacred number four. Four Bands combines Icahya Woecun with the wisdom of best practices for expanding businesses and offers strategic business development and financial literacy services in four directions.
Four Bands invests in, grows and protects Native assets. By fostering entrepreneurship and financial literacy for youth on the Cheyenne River Reservation, Four Bands promotes economic development which enhances the quality of life for the youth on the Reservation. They offer direct services and also have created partnerships with area schools to encourage and support the integration of financial literacy and entrepreneurship into the educational system.
In 2006, Four Bands continued to pilot test strategies to plant the seeds of entrepreneurship and money management among youth. This work evolved into a new program call Wicoicage Sakowin kin un Wicakagapi: Building for the Seventh Generation. Starting in September 2007, Four Bands and other partners started working with the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte Schools and Tiospaye Topa School (located 45 miles to the east of Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne Reservation) to implement money management and entrepreneurship education. In the 2008-2009 school year, we are expanding into two more schools on the reservation. Another component is to offer youths paid entrepreneur internship experiences with a portion of the earnings placed in a savings account Four Bands will match. The funds are only available for asset-producing goals-to pursue higher education, start a business, or purchase a home. We will continue to add partners and grow the program until all youths on the Reservation have successfully learned and applied skills that lead to long-term employment and financial success.
Cora Mae Haskell is the business and finance trainer at Four Bands. She has worked in this position for five years. At Four Bands, Cora Mae has conducted business development and financial literacy workshops attended by more than 600 people. She was instrumental in establishing Four Bands' Individual Development Account (IDA) program. Cora Mae has attended courses and national conferences on creating financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs for youths in economically disadvantages communities. She is a certified trainer for Fannie Mae/First Nation's Financial Skill Building for Families coursework and co-chairs the Native Financial Education Coalition.
Rosebud Reservation in Mission, South Dakota
Sicangu Enterprise
Center
Phyllis Halligan, Enterprise Specialist
Rosebud Reservation in Mission, South Dakota
605-856-2955
605-856-4671
Focus: Youths ages 14 to 18
Abstract: Sicangu Enterprise Center is a microenterprise development
organization on the
Rosebud Reservation in Mission, South Dakota, funded by the Rosebud
Housing Authority Drug
Elimination Program. Sicangu mostly provides loans and technical assistance
to adults, but recently
added a program for youths ages 14 to 18.
Youths participate in the training and technical assistance programs
with adults, and are eligible to
receive a start-up loan upon submission of a feasible business plan.
The center created a set of workbooks especially for youths.
South Dakota State University
Barb Heller, Entrepreneurship Coordinator
South Dakota State University
Box 550, Brookings, SD 57007
(605) 688-6522
Email: Barb.Heller@sdstate.edu
Website: http://entr.sdstate.edu
Abstract: SDSU offers various entrepreneurship courses, a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies, Certificate in Entrepreneurship, and two student organizations that focus on entrepreneurial activities. The program is offered to students majoring in any academic major.
In addition, SDSU is pending approval for an interdisciplinary major in Entrepreneurial Studies. The program will offer the knowledge, skills, and experiences for any individual to recognize and implement their ideas, creating commercial, social, artistic, and/or academic value in our society.
They believe in the importance of having students experience the steps of entrepreneurship for themselves based on the successes of SDSU's Experiencing Entrepreneurship Team Program, funded by Coleman-sponsored Elevator Grant. Students were able to bring their product ideas to market by experiencing each step of the entrepreneurial process while working and networking in a team environment.
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