In the News

With stage lights beaming down, a group of five teens wearing matching green T-shirts and wide-leg denim jeans stood shoulder to shoulder. Facing them was a panel of judges ready to ask tough questions about the students’ business proposal for an innovative portable barbecue smoker, including everything from its design to a marketing plan.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Students from Kempsville High School’s Entrepreneurship & Business Academy were selected to participate in a national pitch event this summer.

A Brentwood High School alum is one of five finalists in the INCubatoredu National Pitch Contest.

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.

Providence Catholic High School is pioneering the way for young minds to dive into the world of business and entrepreneurship through its INCubatoredu program. This cutting-edge program empowers students to start on the entrepreneurial path, providing them with a remarkable head start in the business arena.

Picture the ABC network show “Shark Tank,” and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s being developed by Career Connections Coordinator Dacia Kelly in the Clear Creek district.

...Perhaps most importantly, the new Innovation Hub will provide significant opportunities for local industry and community members to engage meaningfully with students both as mentors and partners. These authentic relationships between students and industry won’t be peripheral to the student’s experience in the Innovation Hub, they’ll be central to its design, which expands on the success of the district’s partnerships with the business community. We already have entrepreneurship education programs that are central to our career and technical education programs and its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center. These, in many ways, are the predecessor to the Innovation Hub.  Read more in SmartBrief.

One of Mundelein High School's Incubatoredu program startups, "Safe Sip," recently moved on as a finalist in the INCubatoredu National competition. Safe Sip, a drink-spiking detection product, is one of the top five Incubator startups in the country competing for this national honor. The Safe Sip startup was created by five senior girls at Mundelein High School. 

At this very moment, women across the United States are sitting on million-dollar ideas, like a product that fills a niche or a service that solves a unique challenge. And increasingly, women are turning those ideas into entrepreneurship opportunities. Women accounted for 49% of business startups in 2021, a 28% jump from two years earlier.