In the News

Growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Little Rock helped me to understand the value of a dollar from a young age.

INCubatoredu, a year-long class at White Plains High School, offers students the chance to be entrepreneurs. [VIDEO]

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Waukesha West High School students swept a national app-making competition – and also tried to reverse an industry trend.

A group of local entrepreneurs listened and watched presentations about bug-repellent candles, an automotive service and high-heeled shoes that secretly contain pepper spray at Clear Creek High School as part of the entrepreneurial class.

A group of high school students visiting the Farmer School of Business isn’t terribly unusual or particularly noteworthy. But last week’s visit by entrepreneurship students from five Cincinnati-area high schools highlighted a decade-long connection between the Farmer School and Uncharted Learning, a program to “provide schools with comprehensive curriculum, teacher training, and support services to help students develop adaptable, real-world skills.”

• AI As Learning Partner
• Portraits That Align & Inspire
• Work That Matters
• Growing Staff
• New Models in Networks

Check out an edited and linked transcript below that walks through these ideas, highlights a few of the leading exemplars and threads them together.

It’s crazy to think that the five of us barely knew each other at this time last year. Our journey with Notifeye, our innovative road safety product we created as part of our high school’s entrepreneurship program, has been incredible. Today, we want to share our story, from the early days of brainstorming to the excitement of winning a national pitch competition.

In a spectacular celebration of innovation, the Business Council of Westchester and its Westchester Innovation Network (WIN) recently honored three local innovators — Clarapath, EverFoam Products and White Plains High School, of White Plains Public Schools — with BCW WIN Champion Awards totaling $17,250. The awards were presented at the BCW’s Business Showcase event held on November 20 at the Westchester Marriott. The exciting half-day event drew more than 350 people and featured over 80 exhibitors.

On this episode of Getting Smart Podcast Victoria Andrews discusses student entrepreneurship with an awesome group from Frisco ISD. Tommy Thompson teaches Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Finance Classes, as well as the DECA sponsor in Frisco ISD. Before teaching he worked in the corporate world for 18 years, started his own business, and served as an industry volunteer in the INCubatoredu program at Centennial High School which he now teaches. 

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a nationalized curriculum. The combination of local and state control allows for extraordinary leverage on outcome decisions and content alignment. Our country’s preservation of state’s rights empowers schools and states to contextualize both policy and implementation. Federal oversight comes, typically, with leveraged grants to encourage participation. The policies articulated in the No Child Left Behind Act and Every Student Succeeds Act fall into this category. 

In many high schools in the nation, the traditional course sequence and graduation requirements remain static: four years of English, three years of math, three years of science, etc. Both mathematical and language literacies still hold major importance for every graduate. And, as the world becomes more complex and unpredictable, new consideration should be given to the required core content. 

We talk a lot about the most innovative learner-centered schools that combine personalized, competency-based and project-based learning co-designed around real-world experiences. Here, content emerges from student interest in high-purpose topics while also linking to standards or competencies. These learning environments are challenging the Carnegie status quo and sit on the horizon of education. While important signals for the future of learning, they remain the minority.

Updating content areas would accelerate learning around three core types of skills expected by schools: core skills (typically the skills of writing, reading, mathematics, history, arts found in state standards), technological skills (industry skills earned through CTE programs, work-based learning, apprenticeships, career pathways, etc.), and transferable skills (durable skills, XQ). Weaving in the content below will create engaging and future forward ways to nurture the core, technological and durable skills while preparing young people to govern, contribute and thrive as adults.  Read more from Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia.