“ Despite all of these opportunities , it is still likely the majority of K-12 students will graduate without learning about the entrepreneurial opportunities available to them ,” says Coulson . “ When middle school students think about career paths that will determine course selections in high school and college , entrepreneurship is seldom even a consideration . When they get to high school , where deep-dive learning about entrepreneurship may be available , few students take advantage . They don ’ t know enough about it to determine if entrepreneurship is a good choice for them .”
Creating the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Through the support of an Appalachian Regional Commission ( ARC ) grant and matching funds from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation , EntreEd is working to overcome this gap by bringing the Academic Entrepreneurial School ( AES ) designation to West Virginia .
Any school can earn the AES designation by delivering entrepreneurship education to every enrolled student during one school year . West Virginia schools with active AES designations include Arnoldsburg Elementary , Pleasant Hill Elementary and Calhoun County Middle / High in Calhoun County ; Hamlin PreK-8 , Guyandotte Middle , West Hamlin Elementary and Lincoln County High in Lincoln County ; and North Elementary in Monongalia County . Gilmer County High School also had an AES designation in 2015-16 .
“ When I introduced EntreEd , the teachers loved it ,” says Tim Driscoll , former Calhoun County superintendent who joined the Hancock County Board of Education as superintendent in July . “ It was important that every child have some form of training and involvement in entrepreneurship education . The students were so engaged and captivated that it allowed them to enhance the core subjects . They saw it as an opportunity to apply what they learned to their businesses .”
Though firm about reaching every student , EntreEd is flexible as to how schools accomplish the goal . EntreEd recommends that schools first examine what they are already doing in their curriculum and extra-curricular activities . Examples include using entrepreneurship in elementary spelling lists and math lessons with product costs , profits and discounts ; discussing intellectual property rights of new inventions ; and designing a logo for a business .
“ In K-12 , we have to relate education to how it can help create something that will make West Virginia better , stronger and more economically sound ,” says Driscoll . “ When you turn these kids loose , they are amazing in what they come up with in terms of new ideas for businesses , services and how to help their communities . For the sake of our state , we need to prepare children in the beginning to think about other ways we can promote and grow our state .”
Investing in the Future
A $ 2.3 million ARC POWER grant awarded in 2016 is helping EntreEd expand the effort beyond the three original counties to schools in the coalfields across Appalachia , including Southern West Virginia , Ohio , Kentucky , Tennessee and Virginia . Though POWER grants are traditionally dedicated to putting unemployed coal miners to work in other fields , EntreEd saw an opportunity .
“ Even if all the unemployed adult miners were retrained and employed , there is still another generation of young people who would have gone to work in the mines and now need to be redirected into other opportunities , ideally ones that will allow them to stay in their communities ,” says Coulson .
After reviewing the initial AES pilot in Calhoun , Gilmer and Lincoln counties , EntreEd determined the schools could be better served by resources already in their region and familiar with their communities . As a result , they identified community colleges to partner with the AES schools . BridgeValley Community and Technical College ( CTC ) will partner with all Clay County schools , New River CTC will partner with Webster County High School , and Southern West Virginia CTC is currently recruiting schools in McDowell and Mingo counties .
“ As the program expands , the childhood advice won ’ t only be ‘ go to college and get a good job ,’” says Coulson . “ We will also let students know they can make their own jobs and support their families in their own communities .” •
Agriculture-Driven Entrepreneurship
By JoEllen Zacks
School gardens and agriculture programs are planting the seeds of entrepreneurship in West Virginia , giving students real-world experience , developing leadership and nurturing healthy lifestyles .
The West Virginia Department of Education has inventoried 136 school gardens but says the actual number could be larger as nature-based programs blossom around the state . One of the largest can be found at North Elementary School in Morgantown , which maintains 33 raised beds . Students choose what to plant and how to care for and harvest produce , and they sell products at the Morgantown Farmers Market .
“ Parents report that children ask to eat and grow their own vegetables and generally talk excitedly about their involvement in the garden ,” says Laura VanHorn , kindergarten teacher and garden coordinator at North Elementary . “ As teachers , we see higher levels of engagement , richer vocabulary , a connection with the outdoors and a wonder about the natural world .”
At Mountaineer Montessori Middle School in Charleston , students run their own micro economy , which includes growing and selling produce . Micro economy activities are integrated into the school ’ s curriculum , putting science , math , history and language lessons into a real-world context .
“ Entrepreneurship brings tangible work to what students are doing rather than just reading about it ,” says Middle School Lead Guide Bridgett Steveson .
Lincoln County High School ’ s awardwinning agriculture program offers many entrepreneurship opportunities . Students operate the school ’ s greenhouse and high tunnels and bring products to market . They can also participate in a supervised agriculture experience in which they run their own enterprise such as raising and selling livestock .
In addition to making their own money , students enjoy seeing how their academic lessons relate to the real world . “ We are getting these students ready for careers ,” says Seth Neal , an agriculture instructor and FFA advisor at the school . “ Students actually enjoy seeing how math , English , science and history play out in their career interest .”
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