1. Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone
A Framework for South Dakota Schools

2. A Little About South Dakota…

3. A Look at How the Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone Evolved in South Dakota

4. 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

5. Entrepreneurship Experiences in South Dakota
Compiled everyone’s 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

6. Building the Framework…..
Adopted a mission statement for the project “Building South Dakota’s 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

7. Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone in South Dakota
Capstone Projects are part of the Governor’s 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.

8. 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?

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Entrepreneurship Experience Three Phases
Business Plan
Portfolio/journal
Presentation

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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 Education’s webpage.

17. Implementing the Entrepreneurship Experience Capstone
Organize
Plan
Design
Implement
Evaluate

18. 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?

19. 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

20. Step Three: Designing
This step involves identifying and tailoring the components for your school. This is the “big picture” piece.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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

25. The Three Project Phases
How will these components fit together?
Business Plan
Portfolio
Presentation
Could an Internship be part of the Entrepreneurship Experience?

26. 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
Mentor’s Logs
Mentor Verification Forms
Role of Steering Committee

27. Documents and Forms Business Selection Business Selection Guidelines
Project Proposal
Project Approval Form
Letters of Intent
Project Change Form

28. Promotion and Marketing
How will you promote the Entrepreneurship Experience to stakeholders?
Students
Parents
School Staff
Administration
School Board
Community/Business Members

29. The Business Plan
What are the guidelines for your school?

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

31. 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

32. 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.

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

34. 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

35. 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.

36. Step Five: Evaluating Results
In this phase, you will need to frame your evaluation based on your goals for the Program and student outcomes.

37. Program and Student Evaluation
Program Evaluation – should be a yearly event. What worked well?? What didn’t? 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?

38. Next Steps Continue revising and adding information Project website
Meet the needs of schools
Sharing “Best Practices”
Project website
Offer the Entrepreneurship Capstone online to schools/students
Continue with statewide professional development

39. Contact Information
Gerald Gramm –
700 Governors Dr.
Pierre, SD
Office – (605)
Cell – (605)
Marsha Kucker –
High Schools That Work State Director
office – (605)
cell – (605)