In the News

...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.

It’s true what they say: A traditional four-year college education isn’t for everyone. But virtually every kid who walks the hallways of Township High School District 214’s six schools will get a job at some point in their lives.

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. 

Rounding out its fifth year at Vandegrift, the Entrepreneurship/INCubatoredu program has grown to become one of the most popular course requests among students. Taught by teachers Erin Mathis and Erin Lucas, the course allows students to spearhead the creation of their own unique businesses, whilst incorporating vital knowledge of business management and marketing research. 

Next week in Dallas, GSV will convene innovative and forward-thinking minds in education, business, technology and industry for the inaugural SMU+GSV Mission Summit. The three-day conference is packed full of powerful keynotes, networking opportunities and interactive sessions aimed at accelerating ideas that combine purpose and profits and changing the world for good.

Kempsville High School students in the Entrepreneurship and Business Academy are busy preparing. The INCubatoredu Program’s 5th Annual Pitch Night is Wednesday at 5 p.m. Watch as six teams present their business pitches and plans to a panel of successful judges. With real seed money on the line to fund their businesses, the stakes are high for these sophomores.

“No two days are the same. We’re trying to tackle a different problem every day in class. And it’s not all work. It’s fun too, and it’s something I enjoy,” Senior Christian Long said. “Just being in an environment where other people are pursuing similar goals, but at the same time doing something totally different, I think that’s super powerful.”

This spring, we’ve found pockets of excellence in three dozen high school visits...where we’ve spotted evidence of deeper learning (i.e., engagement, critical thinking, excellent public products). It’s been work that matters to the learner and their community– it’s relevant, purposeful, and consequential work.