Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone

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Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone

• A Framework for South Dakota Schools

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A Little About South Dakota
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A Look at How the Entrepreneurship Experience
Capstone Evolved in South Dakota
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Building the South Dakota Framework

• Invited key people from schools
• Those who had implemented Senior Experiences
• Those who had implemented Entrepreneurship
  courses
• Discussed what was needed to implement
  Entrepreneurship Experiences
• Information
• Forms
• Structure

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Entrepreneurship Experiences in South Dakota

• Compiled everyones ideas and information
• Conducted research
• Northwestern School District
• Hanson School District
• McCook School District
• Wessington Springs School District
• Todd County School District
• Rapid City Stevens
• Other States

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Building the Framework..

• Adopted a mission statement for the
  projectBuilding South Dakotas Future One
  Step at a Time
• Developed Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone
  A Framework for South Dakota Schools
• Continued with the research process
• Developed a draft of the Framework
• Developed promotional materials that schools
  could use/adapt

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Entrepreneurship ExperienceCapstone in South
Dakota

• Capstone Projects are part of the Governors 2010
  Education Initiative.
• The Entrepreneurship Experience is part of the
  new HS 2025 Initiative.
• Pilot schools are testing the Framework this
  year.
• Statewide training sessions are planned for
  Spring 2010
• Included as a part of the new proposed new high
  school graduation requirements.

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Learning About the Entrepreneurship
Experience Capstone

• What are Entrepreneurship Experiences?
• Why a South Dakota Framework?
• Is this required for all South Dakota schools?
• Why implement Entrepreneurship Experiences?
• How do we implement Entrepreneurship Experiences?
• Where does this fit in the high school
  curriculum?

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The Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone

• is a high school capstone project that requires
  students to research a selected business and
  prepare and defend an authentic business plan.
• States, school districts, and high schools
  focusing on restructuring, raising high school
  standards, and actively engaging all Seniors in a
  challenging and relevant educational program
  incorporate Capstone Experiences such as an
  Entrepreneurship Project.

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Rationale for Entrepreneurship Experiences

• Provide authentic and experiential learning
• Provide relevant learning experiences
• Increased high school rigor
• Increased awareness of business opportunities
  available to your people in our state.
• Creation of new businesses in the state

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Entrepreneurship Experience Three Phases

• Business Plan
• Portfolio/journal
• Presentation

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Elements of a High Quality Entrepreneurship
Experience Program

• Clear and Aligned Purpose
• Explicit, Rigorous Criteria
• Student-Directed Learning and Youth Engagement
• Clear Scaffolding of Skills
• Authentic Project
• Business Involvement
• Authentic Audience

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Elements of a High Quality Entrepreneurship
Experience Program

• Coordination and Comprehensive Communication
• Adequate Staffing and Supervision
• Business partner
• Parent Involvement
• Professional Development
• Celebration and Recognition

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Exemplary Program Criteria

• All students have access to Entrepreneurship
  Experience programs based on their Personal
  Learning Plan and chosen career pathway.
• High school junior and senior students spend a
  semester to one year learning all aspects and
  gaining hands-on experience in a business
  enterprise.
• Partnerships with community businesses and
  organizations are a component of the
  Entrepreneurship Experience program.

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Exemplary Program Criteria

• The school district has the structure in place to
  offer and operate the Entrepreneurship Experience
  program.
• Entrepreneurship Experience students learn career
  selection, job and entrepreneurship skills.
• Teachers participate in professional development
  to assist them in implementation of the defined
  criteria for Entrepreneurship Experience
  programs.

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Using the Entrepreneurship Experience Framework

• The Entrepreneurship Experience Framework is
  intended to be a menu for school districts to
  use in designing a local Entrepreneurship
  Capstone program.
• The Framework will soon be available in Microsoft
  Word on the South Dakota Department of
  Educations webpage.

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Implementing the Entrepreneurship Experience
Capstone

• Organize
• Plan
• Design
• Implement
• Evaluate

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Step One Organizing

• As planning gets underway, reflect on these
  questions
• What are our goals for the Entrepreneurship
  Capstone?
• Does the administration support the program?
• Does the staff support the program?
• Who are key people that should be involved?
• What is our timeline?

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Entrepreneurship Capstone Options

• Project imbedded in a core subject
• Project offered as a stand-alone course
• Project offered as a semester course
• Project offered as a year long course
• Project could be a requirement for high school
  graduation
• Project is assigned a letter grade
• Project is graded by pass/fail
• Project could be partnered with Senior Experiences

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Step Three Designing

• This step involves identifying and tailoring the
  components for your school. This is the big
  picture piece.

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Roles and Responsibilities

• Student
• It is the responsibility of the student to meet
  all guidelines and timelines for the
  Entrepreneurship Capstone.
• Faculty Advisor
• All professional staff members are available as
  advisors. Advisors should limit their advisees
  to no more than five to be able to work
  effectively with each one.

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Roles and Responsibilities

• Business/CTE Teachers
• The CTE teacher is responsible for monitoring the
  business plan phase of the Project. Most often
  this function is handled by the Business
  teacher.
• Business Mentor
• Each student may have a Business Mentor who has
  expertise/experience with the topic. The Mentor
  must commit to working with the student for 15
  hours.

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Roles and Responsibilities

• Steering Committee
• The Steering Committee provides overall direction
  to the program. Committee members should include
  representation from the following
  administrators, teachers, parents, students, and
  business/community members. This Committee could
  also be combined with the Senior Experience
  committee.
• Project Coordinator
• Schools should have one person designated as the
  Coordinator. This could be a paid position with
  release time provided.

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Documents and Forms

• Initial Documents and Forms
• Implementation Process
• Guidelines
• Letter to Students
• Letter to Parents
• Parent Permission Form
• Agreement Form (Student-Parent-Faculty
  Advisor-Mentor)
• Timeline

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The Three Project Phases

• How will these components fit together?
• Business Plan
• Portfolio
• Presentation
• Could an Internship be part of the
  Entrepreneurship Experience?

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Documents andForms

• Entrepreneurship Experience Roles and
  Responsibilities
• Entrepreneurship Experience Roles
• Faculty Advisory Guidelines/Agreement Form
• Choosing a Mentor
• Role of a Mentor
• Mentor Agreement Form
• Mentors Logs
• Mentor Verification Forms
• Role of Steering Committee
•  

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Documents and Forms

• Business Selection
• Business Selection Guidelines
• Project Proposal
• Project Approval Form
• Letters of Intent
• Project Change Form

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Promotion and Marketing

• How will you promote the Entrepreneurship
  Experience to stakeholders?
• Students
• Parents
• School Staff
• Administration
• School Board
• Community/Business Members

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The Business Plan

• What are the guidelines for your school?

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Business Selection

• The business plan should be prepared for a
  business relating to the student(s) career
  cluster focus or an area of interest.

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The Portfolio

• Items to include
• Cover Sheet/Title Page
• Project Proposal Contract
• Table of Contents
• Letter to Judges
• Journal Entries
• Project Overview/Letter of Intent
• Project Reflection (s)
• Business Plan Draft
• Mentoring Log
• Presentation PowerPoint

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The Journal

• Each weekly entry should cover the following
• Describe what was done on the Entrepreneurship
  Project that week.
• Write a personal reaction or evaluation of what
  was done that week.

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Business Plan Components

• Executive Summary
• Business Description
• Organization and Management
• Market Analysis
• Marketing and Sales Strategies
• Service or Product Line
• Funding Request
• Financials
• Appendix

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The Presentation

• The Entrepreneurship Experience Presentation is
  the culminating event, which must include the
  entire learning experience. It should reflect
  elements of the portfolio and business plan.
• 8-10 minute overview of the business plan
• 5-10 minute question and answer session
• Use of multi-media
• Visuals such as blueprints, photos or graphs
• Portfolio

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Step Four Implementing

• When you reach this step, you have already done
  the hardest work! A phased in implementation has
  hopefully been identified in your plan. Staff
  development is a critical component in this phase.

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Step Five Evaluating Results

• In this phase, you will need to frame your
  evaluation based on your goals for the Program
  and student outcomes.

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Program and Student Evaluation

• Program Evaluation should be a yearly event.
  What worked well?? What didnt? What are we going
  to change for next year?
• Student Evaluation How are we going to evaluate
  student results? What rubrics should we use?
  Should one phase count more than the other?

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Next Steps

• Continue revising and adding information
• Meet the needs of schools
• Sharing Best Practices
• Project website
• Offer the Entrepreneurship Capstone online to
  schools/students
• Continue with statewide professional development

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Contact Information

• Gerald Gramm gerald.gramm_at_state.sd.us
• 700 Governors Dr.
• Pierre, SD 57501
• Office [phone]
• Cell [phone]
• Marsha Kucker mkucker_at_edec.org
• High Schools That Work State Director
• office [phone]
• cell [phone]