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YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IN AMERICA:
A POLICYMAKER’S ACTION GUIDE
Presented by the Aspen Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 39
Copyright ©2008 by The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute
One Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20036-1133
Published in the United States of America
in 2008 by the Aspen Institute
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN: 0-89843-497-1
Pub: 08/016
ANDREW B. HAHN
Director
The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
and
Professor
The Heller School
Brandeis University
MICHAEL W. HENNESSY
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The Coleman Foundation
CHARLES HITESHEW
Chief Operating Of?cer
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth
DEBORAH D. HOOVER
President
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
VALORIE J. JOHNSON
Program Director
W.K Kellogg Foundation
IRV KATZ
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The National Human Services Assembly
JACK E. KOSAKOWSKI
Executive Vice President
and
Chief Operating Of?cer
JA Worldwide
DANE LINN
Director
Education Division
National Governors Association
STEVE J. MARIOTTI
Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
CELIE NIEHAUS
Senior Vice President
E*TRADE FINANCIAL
KIM PATE
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
CFED
JOANNA REES
Founder
VSP Capital
ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM
Co-Founder
and
Co-Director, Education Sector
Editor, Eduwonk.com
CHARLES ROUSSEL
SHEILA SIMMONS
Director
National Education Association
DIANA DAVIS SPENCER
President
Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
MARC SPENCER
Chief Executive Of?cer
Juma Ventures
STEPHEN SPINELLI, JR.
President
Philadelphia University
H. LEIGH TONEY
Executive Director
Entrepreneurial Education Center
Miami Dade College
HEATHER VAN SICKEL
Executive Director
National Association of Community College
Entrepreneurship
GOVERNOR BOB WISE
Former Governor of West Virginia
and
President
Alliance for Excellent Education
JOHN ZITZNER
President
Friends of E-Prep Schools
and
Co-Founder
Entrepreneurship Preparatory School
YES GROUP MANAGEMENT TEAM
PETER REILING
Executive Vice President
Leadership and Seminar Programs
and
Executive Director
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
The Aspen Institute
JULIE SILARD KANTOR
Director of YES Group and
National Vice President
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
GLORIA D. SANDIFORD
Public Policy Program Manager
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
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FOREWORD
By:
Stephanie Bell-Rose, YES GROUP Chairperson,
Managing Director Goldman, Sachs, and Co., and President Goldman Sachs Foundation
Thomas W. Payzant, YESG Vice-Chairperson is Professor of Practice at Harvard University
Graduate School of Education and Former Superintendent Boston Public Schools
Economic leaders and educational scholars are calling for an increase in initiative, self-regulation,
critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills among young people to meet the needs of the growing
“knowledge economy.” If we want to be competitive in the global economic arena and maintain our
high standard of living, we must rise to the challenge.
As leaders, how can we develop a systemic initiative to keep young people in school, learning aca-
demic and work skills effectively — motivated to be productive and engaged in their communities
and the larger economy, and developing success-oriented attitudes of initiative, intelligent risk-
taking, collaboration, and opportunity recognition? Entrepreneurship education is one answer to this
question, and an important tool to help every child explore and develop his or her academic, leader-
ship, and life skills.
Fifteen years ago, a new, standards-based framework for improving American K-12 education began
to emerge. It was a radical idea, driven by the goal of having all children reach high standards of
learning, which traditionally had been the expectation set only for a select group. Since then, under
the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (the two
most recent versions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act), state, district, and
school efforts to improve public education for all students have intensi?ed. Yet the United States still
lags behind other countries in key knowledge domains and industries. Why aren’t American children
doing better? Why are so many of our young people not even completing high school?
Fifty-three percent of Hispanic students and one in two African-American students fail to graduate
high school according to The American Youth Policy Forum. Students from low-income families
are six times more likely not to ?nish high school than those from high-income families. Dropouts
face severe obstacles to employment, livable wages, and civic participation; many drift into crime
and are incarcerated. This situation means a loss of opportunities for the individuals, substantial cost
to the government and taxpayers, and a tremendous de?cit in productivity for businesses and other
organizations.
Even those students who do graduate may not be well prepared. According to the National Reading
Panel, American companies lose nearly $40 billion a year because of illiteracy. Further, a survey by
the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee and the National Career Develop-
ment Association found that a majority of youths themselves report feeling unprepared in skills,
knowledge, and attitudes when entering the workforce. And, according to the Manhattan Institute,
only about 20 percent of African-American and Hispanic students graduate college-ready.
This skills crisis is becoming more critical because the American economy is shifting. Not only will
the traditional skills of reading, writing, and math be needed to thrive in this economy, but also tech-
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nological savvy and self-direction. With the pace of innovation, many of the jobs our children will
hold don’t even exist yet. More than ever, we need to educate students to be continual learners.
The federal School to Work Opportunities Act and other education policies suggest that students
learn more and perform better when tasks and skills demonstrate relevance to their current and future
lives. Evaluation studies of high-school-level curricula in youth entrepreneurship report that students
increase their occupational aspirations, interest in college, reading, and leadership behavior after
participation. Six months later, 70 percent of the alumni in a recent evaluation cohort were in college,
63 percent had jobs, and one in three ran a small business.
Perhaps most critically, the experience of a sense of ownership in their lives was four times higher for
alumni of youth-entrepreneurship programs than for students who did not take such courses.
“Ownership” is a powerful concept. The American economy and way of life are based on it. We own
our homes and our cars. We strive to “own” our jobs, even if we work for someone else. Thus, we
value both ?nancial ownership and psychological ownership — being in control of resources and
lives that are of our own choosing. High-school-level education in youth entrepreneurship provides
the experience of ownership early in life.
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global marketplace is the
most important responsibility in education today. Providing them with guidance and opportunity at
the most critical junctures along their educational journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneur-
ship education is an important tool to achieving these objectives.
Corporate philanthropy is well positioned to play an essential part in encouraging entrepreneurship
education and small-business ownership. Model educational and skills-building programs are try-
ing to ?ll this growing gap by preparing young people from low-income communities to work with
peers from around the globe while enhancing their business, academic, and life skills. By investing
in entrepreneurship education programs, funders can open an exciting world of possibilities to young
people, and help them develop new con?dence, skills, and ambitions along the way.
While philanthropy can play a part in encouraging entrepreneurship education, Congress, the U.S.
Department of Education, state governors and legislators, and economic-development leaders must
play a leading role. Congress should authorize and fund legislation to support training and certi?-
cation for high school educators to teach entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education should be
universally available, to provide all students with opportunities to explore and ful?ll their potential.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
If you ask America’s business and entrepreneurial leaders to comment on the quality of our current
and future workforce, you hear a common refrain: Today’s young people are “not ready to work.”
They lack necessary skills, especially in science and math, and, even worse, they often lack the ability
to work in teams, think creatively, or to interact effectively with colleagues or potential customers.
This “disconnect” between what employers want and what our youth bring to the table has major
economic consequences. Most importantly, young people — especially the growing number of high
school dropouts—lose the opportunity to enjoy successful and rewarding careers. At the same time,
American companies suffer from competitiveness disadvantages as they become less able to keep up
in today’s “war for talent.” Meanwhile, overall American economic competitiveness has begun to
suffer as our schools and communities lose the capacity to develop a more creative and entrepreneurial
talent base.
According to many observers, an entrepreneurial mindset — a critical mix of success-oriented atti-
tudes of initiative, intelligent risk-taking, collaboration, and opportunity recognition — is the missing
ingredient. This skills crisis is becoming more critical because the American economy is shifting. Not
only will the traditional skills of reading, writing, and math be needed to thrive in this economy, but
also technological savvy and self-direction. With the pace of innovation, many of the jobs our children
will hold don’t even exist yet. More than ever, we need to educate students to be continual learners.
These multi-pronged challenges will require a host of different solutions that better engage young
people in their education, while also building stronger connections between communities, busi-
nesses, and schools. We believe that expanding the availability of youth Entrepreneurship Education
resources should be a critical part of this solution. These programs have a proven track record of
keeping children in school, and providing them with the skills, knowledge, and tools needed to start
their own ventures, thus creating innovative entrepreneurs, managers, and employees.
To date, youth Entrepreneurship Education programs are in place in some communities, but most
American youths have little or no access to such training. We believe that local, state, and federal
policymakers must remedy this situation by making a major commitment to expanding the availabil-
ity of youth Entrepreneurship Education. The goal of the Aspen Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy
Group is to ensure that each graduate from a high school that serves in a low-income community has
educational opportunities to explore his or her entrepreneurial potential.
While this objective sounds simple, achieving it will require extensive cooperation at all levels of
government. Locally, policymakers should:
• Introduce entrepreneurship training in all schools, with special emphasis on those with large
populations of youth from low-income communities.
• Increase funding to support teacher training, curriculum and professional development, and
to evaluate program design and outcomes.
• Develop strong partnerships between schools, businesses, and other community organizations, so
that business leaders can serve as mentors, coaches, and provide support to local programs.
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At the state level, policymakers should:
• Adopt statewide standards for youth Entrepreneurship Education.
• Create formal Entrepreneurship Education partnerships between primary and secondary schools,
community colleges, and four-year institutions.
At the federal level, policymakers should:
• Revise existing education statutes, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Higher Educa-
tion Act, Carl D. Perkins Act and Workforce Investment Act to include entrepreneurship skills as a
desired competency in educational standards.
• Expand funding for youth entrepreneurship in key programs operated by the Department of Labor,
the Small Business Administration, and other appropriate agencies.
• Create a federal Of?ce of Entrepreneurship Education and provide it with resources to share best
practices in the ?eld and also serve as a nationwide advocate for youth entrepreneurship.
• Consider adding Entrepreneurial Literacy to the President’s Council on Financial Literacy.
Even with these important policy interventions, the future of youth entrepreneurship will depend on
the work of entrepreneurs — from the students themselves, to their teachers, to Entrepreneurship
Education advocates, and to the ?eld’s leading business partners. Preparing today’s students for suc-
cess and leadership in the global marketplace is the most important responsibility in education today.
Providing them with guidance and opportunity at the most critical junctures along their educational
journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship Education is an important tool to achieving
these objectives.
To date, youth Entrepreneurship Education programs are in
place in some communities, but most American youths have
little or no access to such training.
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CONTENTS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: THE BIG IDEA? ................................ 9
THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY ............................................. 11
THE PROBLEM: AMERICA’S DROPOUT CRISIS ....................................... 13
INTEGRAL TO THE SOLUTION: ENGAGING YOUTH
IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ............................................................................... 15
HOW DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION WORK? ........................ 17
MAKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION HAPPEN ........................... 19
WHAT CAN POLICYMAKERS DO? ............................................................... 21
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ............................................................................ 27
EPILOGUE: SOMETHING YOUTH CAN SAY YES! TO ............................... 28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ 31
TOP LEADERS SAYING YES! TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
AMERICA’S SCHOOLS .................................................................................... 32
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE’S
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY GROUP
(YES GROUP) MEMBERS ............................................................................... 38
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 9
We believe that Entrepreneurship Education is a
strong and compelling way of thinking about youth
engagement. If you meet a young entrepreneur,
you can’t help but be inspired. Our question is not
“should we do something?” Instead, it is “how can we
make it happen?” The report concludes with detailed
policy-action steps that can guide you in helping your
community to achieve a powerful yet achievable goal:
to ensure that every child, especially those in low-
income communities, is exposed to entrepreneurship
as part of a basic educational experience
When it comes to entrepreneurs, Americans of all
political stripes agree: we like them, we respect them,
and we need them to help build our economic prosper-
ity. For many of us, the entrepreneur, embodied in
the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Oprah or Bill
Gates, is an exemplary American character. Because
the entrepreneur is so “quintessentially American,”
many of us assume that entrepreneurs just emerge
out of thin air. Yet, history shows us that they don’t.
They need to be nurtured — by their parents, their
teachers, and their communities.
Many American children get this nurturing from par-
ents who operate their own businesses, or from local
schools or other support organizations. Unfortunately,
many young people don’t have these opportunities
because of poverty, underperforming schools, or other
factors outside their control. If we want to engage
the entire spectrum of our youth in the American
economy, we will need to ?nd ways to nurture the en-
trepreneurial spirit across the board. We believe that
an aggressive commitment to youth Entrepreneurship
Education offers the means to achieve this equality.
This Guide makes the case for Entrepreneurship
Education in the following ways: First, it details the
extent of the innovation challenge facing America’s
young people, especially youth from low-income
communities. It then details where and how Entre-
preneurship Education can help engage children and
teach critical skills. Thousands of local experiments
in Entrepreneurship Education are underway around
the globe. These experiences provide a host of useful
insights about what works and what is needed in the
?eld. Finally, the guide offers suggestions for what
you, as a leading policymaker, can do to help prepare
our youth to be economically productive members of
society in the 21st century global economy.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION:
THE BIG IDEA?
JASMINE LAWRENCE
Williamstown High School, Williamstown, New Jersey
Owner, EDEN Body Works
At the age of eleven, Jasmine became determined to
create her own natural hair-care products. After she
had used a commercial hair-relaxer, the chemicals in it
had caused 90% of her hair to fall out. “It was really
devastating at eleven years old, without any hair,” she
recalls. “When it comes to women and their hair, if
their hair isn’t right, then they just can’t go about their
day.” It was at that moment that Jasmine vowed never
to use chemical products again. She then researched
natural hair-care products online, but realized that they
were not “natural” at all. “That’s when I decided to
create my own,” and added: “I wanted to do this for a
living and share it with the world.” With the help of
NFTE (the National Foundation for Teaching Entre-
preneurship www.nfte.com), Jasmine started her own
business, EDEN Body Works.
With NFTE’s support, Jasmine created an all-natural
line of hair-care products, including shampoo, con-
ditioner, hair oil, temple balm, hair milk, and hair
wipes. Today, Jasmine’s products are bringing in
over $100,000 per year. In 2007, Jasmine was an
Entrepreneur of the Year at NFTE’s prestigious an-
nual awards gala, attended by a thousand luminaries
from the spheres of business, philanthropy and educa-
tion, and has been featured on Oprah.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 11
This Guide presents a strategic approach to expand
the role of Entrepreneurship Education in America’s
schools, and will attract attention from federal, state,
and local policy leaders. We believe that Entrepre-
neurship Education is a key part of the solution to
several pressing national policy challenges, including
high school dropout rates, workforce readiness, and
America’s economic competitiveness.
One of the biggest challenges facing the American
economy is to how to grow a more skilled and produc-
tive workforce. With inevitable demographic shifts,
it will not be enough to simply tinker at the margins.
When it comes to building a strong future workforce,
we face real challenges. Consider the following:
• The U.S. presently ranks 17th in the world in
overall high school graduation rates. American
rates have remained largely unchanged since World
War II. Unfortunately, numerous global studies
indicate that future high-paying jobs will require
post-high school and, in most cases, post-college
levels of education.
1
• U.S. students continue to perform poorly on in-
ternational tests on science and math. At present,
American 15 year olds rank 24th in mathematics
and 19th in science, when compared to students
from 29 other developed nations.
2
• In 1960, the U.S. was ranked ?rst in percentage of
high school graduates. Currently, we rank 13th in
the world. South Korea, once ranked 27th, is now
number one.
3
These trends are indications of signi?cant challenges
facing the U.S. education system. The old methods of
public school education worked well in the past, but
today’s economy is radically different. It challenges
us all to build new skills, innovative thinking, and
talents that can no longer be nurtured with outdated
methods. This is not only an issue of social justice
and equity, but lies at the heart of America’s economic
competitiveness. When our children fail, America
fails. Our nation’s future prosperity depends on our
ability to encourage a wide and diverse talent pool with
an entrepreneurial mindset, and providing the skills to
succeed, prosper, and compete in today’s economy.
When it comes to new methods and approaches, we be-
lieve that the sky’s the limit. Despite many challenges,
America remains one of the world’s most innovative
and entrepreneurial societies. But there is no single
silver bullet solution to the problems of preparing
American youth to succeed in the 21st century econo-
my. We need any number of new ideas and models.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY
“PLAYING IT FORWARD!”
By Cesserly Rice
Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy,
Chicago, Illinois
Owner, CR Sports Management
Facing changes can be very challenging for anyone.
This is especially true for young athletes making the dif?-
cult transition from high school to college level. Many very
gifted individuals fall through the cracks and throw away
the opportunity to pursue their dream. Overwhelmed by the
daunting task of balancing academics with athletics, while
maneuvering through the “who you know” network often
associated with college sports, they tend to lose their positive
mental outlook and give up. As an athlete myself, I know that
this situation is all too true.
Often all that is needed to turn a seemingly hopeless situation
into the start of an amazing college career is a push in the
right direction, and that is where I come in. I seem to have
a knack for motivating athletes. So I decided to turn my gift
into a socially positive service that prepares young athletes
for the challenges of the next level. My company, CR Sports
Management, bridges this high school to college gap. We
help our clients balance academics and sports, while main-
taining a healthy lifestyle and a positive mental outlook as
they prepare for their college careers.
I have always dreamed of working in the Sports Management
?eld. Until very recently I assumed that I would have to wait
until I was much older to be able to get my start. Well, with
the help of my Advanced Small Business Ownership teacher,
Mr. Scott Steward, I discovered that there is no reason not to
get started now. Even though I am currently only a senior at
Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, I am also
the owner of CR Sports Management. I charge my customers
a small monthly retainer for my services. I have three clients
with great potential to make it all the way to the NBA and I
plan to be there every step along the way to help make it hap-
pen. After graduation I plan to go to the University of Illinois
at Chicago and major in business and sports management.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 13
millions of American children has tremendous reper-
cussions for them and their families, their communi-
ties, and for our nation as a whole.
The most pernicious effects of the dropout crisis are
those that directly affect the students who have al-
ready dropped out. Over the short term, dropouts suf-
fer disproportionately from a host of social ills. Pick a
social problem, and you’ll ?nd that dropouts are more
likely to be affected. These include:
• Crime and incarceration
• Unemployment and/or low-wage “dead end” jobs
• Teen pregnancy
• Reliance on government bene?ts
• Shorter life spans
• Poor health
• Civic disengagement
These problems soon ripple out into the wider com-
munity. The social ills listed above put tremendous
pressure on individuals and families. They also gener-
ate huge costs for the rest of us as taxpayers. Overall,
researchers estimate that each dropout generates extra
societal costs of approximately $260,000 over the
course of his or her lifetime.
5
These added costs take
the form of funds for crime prevention and govern-
ment bene?t programs, as well as a host of other costs
that we often fail to appreciate. For example, the Al-
liance for Excellent Education estimates that the U.S.
could save $17 billion per year in Medicaid and the
cost of health care for the uninsured if we were able to
graduate all students from high school.
6
Even worse, are the long-term economic consequenc-
es of an individual’s decision to drop out. A high
school degree and post-secondary education are the
basic entry point requirements for a successful career
in today’s economy: most jobs will likely require ad-
ditional education. Students cannot enter into prosper-
America’s education and workforce challenges have
resulted from a complex mix of factors. Globalization
and technology have altered work patterns and altered
the skills needed to build successful work lives. Our
educational institutions have not been able to keep up
with the rapid pace of change, especially as it relates
to technological advancement. Schools, especially
middle and high schools, are struggling to provide
their students with the fundamental tools to succeed
academically and in life.
We believe that America’s dropout crisis is a re?ection
of larger concerns. In many ways, high school drop-
outs are early warning signs of growing problems in
the educational system. They are, in effect, a distilla-
tion of troublesome patterns. By effectively address-
ing the dropout crisis, we will also develop a host of
solutions for other pressing educational challenges.
Until quite recently, we knew little about the extent of
America’s high school dropout phenomenon. Fortu-
nately, a number of leading social researchers , such
as Dr. Ruth Curran Neild, University of Pennsylvania,
and Dr. Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters, of John
Hopkins University along with leading organizations
like America’s Promise, the Alliance for Excellent
Education, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-
tion, are now shining a spotlight on what is being
called “The Silent Epidemic.” The magnitude of the
symptoms are staggering.
4
• Every 29 seconds, another student drops out
of school.
• 7,000 students drop out of school every day; 1.2
million leave school over the course of a year.
• Nearly one-third of public high school students fail
to graduate.
• Nearly half of African-Americans, Native Ameri-
cans, and Hispanics fail to graduate high school.
These discouraging statistics tell only part of the story.
Our failure to provide a strong educational base for
THE PROBLEM:
AMERICA’S DROPOUT CRISIS
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14 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
The Causes of the Problem
The dropout crisis is no mystery; we have a good
idea of what causes students to do it. Basically, we
face a needs-resources mismatch. At-risk kids need
more support, but teachers and administrators lack the
resources to provide that essential safety net. Indeed,
the most common cause of dropouts is a failure to
thrive. Students struggle in school, they cannot get
needed supports, so they continue to struggle and fall
further behind. As this chasm between expectations
and reality widens, students are tempted to take the
line of least resistance: dropping out.
This pattern runs counter to what is often portrayed
in the media, where dropouts leave school due to the
temptations of life on the street and other outside fac-
tors. The reality is that dropouts tend to be pushed out
of school, not pulled away.
While a variety of factors have led to the dropout
problem, a few causes tend to dominate. Surveys of
students show that:
7
• 47% claim that their classes were not interesting
• 43% missed too many days and could not catch up
• 42% spent time with people who were not
interested in school
• 38% felt they had too much freedom and not
enough discipline in their lives
• 35% had failing grades
These statistics indicate that the dropout crisis is
not simply the direct result of concentrated poverty.
These structural conditions play a role, but an equally
important factor results from the education system
itself: our schools are not adequately engaging young
people. Four of ?ve of the above factors are related to
school curriculum not reaching the personal interests
of the students. Young people need to see a connec-
tion between what they learn in school and future
success in life. Relevancy is critical.
ous careers without this educational foundation. Over
a lifetime, high school dropouts earn $1 million less
than the average college graduate. In effect, teenag-
ers, many of whom are not yet ready to drive or to
vote, are making a million dollar decision when they
opt to drop out.
This lagging performance and growing inequality are
occurring at a time when the global “war for talent”
is heating up. America’s future competitiveness will
suffer if our educational system sends poorly prepared
workers, managers, and entrepreneurs into the work-
force. Our young people will not be able to compete
with countries such as India and China, which are
becoming major sources of scienti?c and technologi-
cal talent.
Finally, the dropout crisis’s real burden is one of op-
portunities lost. Behind the ?gures are young people
whose full potential will never be realized. They
could have become fully engaged citizens who raised
happy families and enjoyed prosperous careers. They
could also have become our next generation of entre-
preneurial leaders and innovators.
The ongoing debate over STEM (Science, Technol-
ogy, Engineering, and Math) education offers a case
in point. Science advocates have contended that the
U.S. education system is not producing enough quali-
?ed scientists, engineers, and technicians. Washing-
ton has responded with a host of initiatives, such as
the America COMPETES Act, to bolster funding for
STEM education. Yet, it will be dif?cult to nurture
new scientists without expanding the pool of potential
students through outreach to minority students, and,
yes, increased attention to the dropout crisis. Further,
we should not overlook the opportunity to commer-
cialize innovations and integrate entrepreneurship as a
component of STEM.
Report#1.indd 14 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 15
Finally, we need to build an overall school climate that
fosters rigorous academics, effective relationships in
the community, and relevancy throughout the curricu-
lum. Schools need to place higher expectations on stu-
dents, and they must be held accountable on the most
important measure: preparing students for success in
the working world or post-secondary education.
Entrepreneurship Education is a Relevant
and Engaging Life Skill
Youth Entrepreneurship Education offers one effective
means to address these challenges of engaging stu-
dents, building stronger support networks, and nur-
turing a more rigorous academic environment in our
schools. Entrepreneurship Education instills a fun-
damental life skill. Whether young people ultimately
become entrepreneurs or work for others, they learn to
invest in themselves and know they have options. En-
trepreneurial Education and training prepares people,
especially youth, to be responsible, enterprising indi-
viduals who contribute to economic development and
sustainable communities. The education is not based
solely on a textbook course. Instead, students are
immersed in real-life learning experiences where they
have an opportunity to take risks, manage the results,
and learn from the outcomes.
Entrepreneurship Education is not just about teaching
someone to run a business. It is also about encourag-
ing creative thinking and promoting a strong sense
of self-worth and accountability. The core outcomes
created via Entrepreneurship Education include:
• The ability to recognize opportunities in one’s life.
• The ability to pursue such opportunities by generat-
ing new ideas and marshaling needed resources.
• The ability to create and operate a new venture.
• The ability to think in a creative and critical manner.
Addressing the dropout crisis by engaging youth in
school requires a whole host of solutions. There is no
shortage of good ideas — ranging from speci?c inter-
ventions, such as longer school days, to more com-
prehensive school reform.
8
Three broad approaches
directly address the issues of student disengagement.
First, we need to introduce new curricula and teach-
ing methods that engage students and build a closer
connection between school and work. Some students
thrive through traditional book learning; others need to
see the connection between their schoolwork and the
so-called “real world.” These connections can be built
in numerous ways. For example, career and technical
education programs provide workplace skills that can
be applied in connection with entrepreneurial experi-
ence. Service learning programs engage youth by
combining education with service opportunities, such
as working for neighborhood organizations or environ-
mental groups, to practice social entrepreneurship.
Business leaders understand this connection. For ex-
ample, the Council on Competitiveness has called for
American schools to do more problem-based learning
in order to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
9
Many
of the existing entrepreneurship programs provide
experiences that encourage students to use their own
judgment, creativity, idea generation, goal setting, and
problem solving skills.
Second, we need to build a better support network
for struggling students. Dropouts rarely appear out
of nowhere. Many at-risk students show signs of
potential trouble in sixth grade or even earlier. At-
risk indicators, such as poor attendance, are widely
understood and recognized by educators but lack of
resources means that children fall through the cracks.
If we want to engage them with new educational tools,
we need to keep them in school. Thus, a strong early
warning mechanism, along with the ability to respond
and support at-risk kids, is needed.
INTEGRAL TO THE SOLUTION:
ENGAGING YOUTH IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Report#1.indd 15 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
16 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
how to “invest” in their own potential. Youth from
low-income communities will learn through entrepre-
neurship to make money doing something they enjoy
while also learning personal ?nance skills and how to
budget and invest.
Decades of experience indicate that these skills cannot
be taught through classroom lectures alone. They are
acquired through experiential learning where youths
are exposed to the risks, ambiguities, and creativity
of building a real-life business. In an effective Entre-
preneurship Education course or experience, young
people don’t just learn the theory behind starting a
business, they live it through a ‘hands-on’ application!
What is Youth Entrepreneurship Education?
Can it be Expanded in America’s Schools?
Youth Entrepreneurship Education is a viable ap-
proach to engaging our students by helping them
develop entrepreneurial skills and experience what it
is like to start a business venture. Formal youth entre-
preneurship curricula and programs have existed for
decades and are building their research base, but the
movement has recently begun to expand both here and
abroad. This momentum is building on the interest
that American youth display for entrepreneurship.
A recent survey in 2007 of American young people
(ages 8-21)
10
found that:
• 40% of young people would like to start a
business someday.
• 63% believe that if they work hard, they can suc-
cessfully start a new company.
• 59% know someone who has started a business.
• 26% agree that starting their own business would
be more desirable than other career opportunities.
Entrepreneurship Education differs from other busi-
ness or economics education programs, and can
complement most ?nancial literacy curricula. These
programs teach youth how the economy works and
how to manage one’s own ?nances. Entrepreneurship
educators can and should provide this economic and
?nancial foundation, and they also provide a much
broader range of skill sets and teach young people
“EMPOWER YOURSELF BY INSPIRING OTHERS”
by Evin Robinson
Science Skills Center High School,
Brooklyn, New York
CEO, InspiRing
My name is Evin Robinson and I am the Chief Executive
Of?cer of InspiRing, which creates and sells right-hand rings
as symbols of female empowerment. I’m a senior at Science
Skills Center High School in Brooklyn.
Growing up in a predominantly female household with a
single mother, I had a front row seat to the struggles women
face. So I took the lessons I was taught from my Entrepre-
neurship class and brought my ideas together to create my
business. InspiRing allows me to give back, and will hopeful-
ly help me accomplish one of my long-term goals — opening
a community center in my neighborhood to teach skills such
as networking and communication, as well as expose kids to
various career choices.
InspiRing’s slogan — “Empower yourself by InspiRing
others” — is about boosting young females’ con?dence and
awareness of empowerment by being role models to others.
Each InspiRing is handcrafted and comes with an inspiration-
al quote to instill positive imaging. We plan to donate part of
our yearly pro?t to Girls Inc., a nonpro?t organization dedi-
cated to inspiring young girls to be strong, smart and bold.
I am very excited about my future, as I know great things are
waiting for me. My advice to anyone trying to start a business
is to follow your dreams and be passionate about what you
do. Don’t let making a pro?t cloud your dreams — follow
what’s true to you.
Report#1.indd 16 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 17
Trend Analysis on Entrepreneurship
Over the past decade, community leaders across the
US — and around the world — have embraced entre-
preneurship as an important tool in building wealth
and in building local economies. The concepts of mi-
cro?nance and microenterprise, ?rst pioneered by No-
bel Prize winner Muhammed Yunus and Bangladesh’s
Grameen Bank, are now a core component of interna-
tional development strategies. Closer to home, over
4,000 University’s have built Entrepreneurship pro-
grams (up from two in 1960’s) and nearly every U.S.
state now has an explicit set of policies and programs
to nurture and support local adult entrepreneurs.
13
There’s a good reason for this growing interest. Re-
search shows that new, fast-growing ?rms account
for the majority of innovation and new job creation
in the American economy. In fact, these fast-growing
“gazelle” businesses create roughly two-thirds of new
jobs in our economy.
14
These high-growth entrepreneurs are the source of
great competitive advantage for the American econo-
my. As Carl Schramm, President of the Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation has put it:
For the United States to survive and continue its
economic and political leadership in the world, we
must see entrepreneurship as our central competitive
advantage. Nothing else can give us the necessary
leverage to remain an economic superpower.
15
But entrepreneurship is not just about Apple, Google,
or Starbucks. Entrepreneurship has a profound
bottom-line impact on improving people’s lives. This
effect is especially true for minority entrepreneurs.
America’s minority population is among its most
entrepreneurial. African-Americans, Asians, and
Hispanics all start businesses at historically high rates.
Table A depicts these patterns.
Youth Entrepreneurship Education comes in many
sizes and ?avors. There is no one single right way
to bring it the target audience, just as there is no one
single right way to teach reading, math, or writing.
Hundreds of organizations across the U.S. promote
Entrepreneurship Education at the local level and a
number operate nationally. The ?eld of entrepreneur-
ship education even operates its own consortium, the
Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
(www.entre-ed.org).
These organizations operate in a variety of settings,
from rural Appalachia to distressed urban neighbor-
hoods to American Indian reservations to high-tech-
nology hot spots across the country. Each uses its
own approach but they all agree on certain core princi-
ples.
11
Entrepreneurship Education does not just teach
about how business or the wider economy works; it
teaches a way of thinking and a way of approaching
the world. The late Jeff Timmons of Babson College
summarized the consensus very well when he noted:
Entrepreneurship is the ability to create and build
something from practically nothing. It is initiat-
ing, doing, achieving and building an enterprise or
organization, rather than just watching, analyzing,
or describing one. It is the knack for sensing an
opportunity where others see chaos, contradiction
and confusion. It is the ability to build a “founding
team” to complement your own skills and talents.
It is the know-how to ?nd, marshal and control
resources (often owned by others) and to make sure
you don’t run out of money when you need it most.
Finally, it is the willingness to take calculated risks,
both personal and ?nancial, and then do everything
possible to get the odds in your favor.
12
While we believe that engaging youth is a primary
purpose of Entrepreneurship Education programs,
these efforts also contribute other community ben-
e?ts as well. Among the most important is the role of
entrepreneurship in developing the economies of local
communities and in building wealth for local residents.
HOW DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION WORK?
Report#1.indd 17 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
18 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Table A
2002 Economic Census reports on
Non-employer statistics (1997-2002)
African-American ?rms: Numbers Up 45% Revenues Up 25%
Asian ?rms: Numbers Up 24% Revenues Up 8%
Hispanic ?rms: Numbers Up 31% Revenues Up 19%
All Businesses: Numbers up 10% Revenues Up 22%
Finally, Entrepreneurship education helps students
build more successful careers regardless of whether
they take the “entrepreneurial leap” or become a “in-
trepreneurial worker” in someone else’s business. The
entrepreneurial “mindset” improves the productivity
of all workers so everyone wins. In today’s economy,
successful careers require networking and ?exibility
that can be learned as students experience entrepre-
neurship education. The ability to promote the “brand
called me” is becoming an even more important skill
as the economy is more and more relying on contrac-
tors and consultants to perform the work organizations
need to complete. Students can acquire these types of
fundamental techniques which are critical components
of an effective future worker in the workplaces of the
world through entrepreneurship education. A personal
“locus of control” helps students engage more effec-
tively in their education experiences thus improving
academic performance while in the education system.
Entrepreneur education allows students the opportuni-
ty to develop skills essential for success in the market
places of the 21st Century.
While the overall number of minority entrepreneurs
is growing, these companies face unique challenges.
Many have lower revenues, lower growth rates, more
limited access to outside capital and other resources.
Take the case of ?rms owned by African-Americans,
which are, on average, four times smaller than the
average Caucasian-owned ?rm. African-American
businesses also hire fewer people.
16
These disparities have a number of causes, but major
factors include the limited availability of specialized
training and the absence of a long family history of
business ownership. Because many new minority en-
trepreneurs have grown up without hearing about busi-
ness discussed at the kitchen table, they may be less
prepared for the challenges of a struggling business.
If minority youth don’t learn business at the kitchen
table, they should have the opportunity to learn about
it in school or at their local community center. Entre-
preneurship Education thus serves as a path to upward
mobility in multiple ways, by keeping students in
school to complete their educations, and by providing
the skills and knowledge that will allow them to build
wealth through founding their own businesses.
Report#1.indd 18 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 19
ing, and team building. Effective use of these new
methodologies will require a serious commitment to
professional development.
Effective Entrepreneurship Education programs en-
gage local entrepreneurs as mentors, coaches, speak-
ers and role models. It’s not enough to simply have
teachers teaching a new class; new partnerships will
be required. Partnerships with local business orga-
nizations, such as Chambers of Commerce, Small
Business Development Centers, Entrepreneur’s Orga-
nization (EO) or local civic clubs, such as a Rotary,
are also an integral component of Entrepreneurship
Education. These partnerships bring new ideas to a
school’s budding young entrepreneurs, but they also
have an added bene?t: they build stronger business-
education partnerships across the board. As business
leaders begin to mentor students, they will also be
more likely to support other school programs. These
businesspeople can bring a classroom to life with rel-
evant real-world experiences and stories that teachers,
many of whom lack direct business experience, would
not be able to share.
Finally, school districts and community leaders must
invest in effective and accurate evaluation efforts. It
is important they understand the techniques and tools
that work best in engaging youth and in producing the
next generation of young entrepreneurs. As part of
this effort, communities should also consider creating
an Entrepreneurship Education Innovation Fund that
provides targeted investments to programs, schools,
and teachers who act like entrepreneurs by generating
new innovations in the educational system.
Despite the many bene?ts of youth entrepreneurship
programs, most young people do not have access to
these educational opportunities. The leading pro-
grams, such as those operated by the National Founda-
tion for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Junior
Achievement (JA), serve tens of thousands of students
from low-income communities each year. Yet, they
are only touching a small part of the potential market.
Few communities have embraced Entrepreneurship
Education as an of?cial and integrated part of their
educational systems. In fact, only nine states have
formal legislation that promotes Entrepreneurship
Education at the K-12 level.
17
Because Entrepreneurship Education programs often
fall outside of a school district’s formal curriculum, the
?eld has grown slowly. Successful programs are in
place across the U.S., yet we only have small pockets of
excellence. There is no system in place that offers En-
trepreneurship Education as an option for all students.
If this system were to be introduced, what would it
look like? The ?rst and most important step would
involve state and school district adoption of a formal
Entrepreneurship Education curriculum. This cur-
riculum could be adopted “off the shelf” from existing
‘best practice’ products, or developed in-house.
As the curriculum is introduced into the schools, a
commitment to professional development opportuni-
ties for teachers will also be required. Many teach-
ers will be new to the world of entrepreneurship and
require training in how to support these new courses.
In addition, effective Entrepreneurship Education uses
a host of new teaching techniques, such as distance
education, experiential learning, problem-based learn-
MAKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION HAPPEN
Report#1.indd 19 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Report#1.indd 20 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 21
local visionary is no way to build a sustainable move-
ment that offers opportunities to area students. Some
schools and communities will require a nudge in the
form of incentives or other encouragement to consider
implementing Entrepreneurship Education.
19
These incentives could take many forms. A com-
munity might help defray the cost of teacher train-
ing. Most Entrepreneurship Education organizations
provide extensive training and support for teachers.
While some of these costs are subsidized, teachers
must still ?nd funds to pay for travel and needed sup-
plies. Community foundations and other investors can
help seed new programs and ?ll this gap.
Another form of incentive involves the Entrepreneur-
ship Education curriculum itself. Current Entrepre-
neurship Education providers like NFTE and JA can
provide the needed curricula, and schools will still
need to align these programs with local, state, and fed-
eral standards. In this instance, schools should look
to the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education’s
National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation,
20
which link the principles of Entrepreneur-
ship Education to other educational outcomes. These
content standards have been used across the U.S. and
have also been adopted by the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills.
Within schools, programs can operate in formal class-
rooms (such as business and marketing education)
or as an additional in-school or after-school activity.
For example, in Fannin County, Georgia, the local
Chamber of Commerce partnered with Fannin County
Schools to create Vision Quest, a yearlong program
for 11th grade students who receive entrepreneur-
ship training and are encouraged to start businesses
in the local community. In Prince George’s County,
Maryland, teachers now impart entrepreneurship to
120-plus students annually and have a two-year cur-
riculum for the “entrepreneurship pathway” (connec-
tion from middle school to college to career or busi-
ness ownership).
Effective Entrepreneurship Education programs will
require that local, state, and Federal policymakers em-
brace Entrepreneurship Education as an effective tool
for engaging youth and building the next generation of
world-class entrepreneurs and a stronger more entre-
preneurial workforce in America. Ideally, this effort
should proceed in cooperation with business leaders,
who have the greatest interest in seeing local youth
stay in school and embrace entrepreneurship. Below
are suggestions for leaders at each level .
What Can Local Leaders Do?
At the local level, an ideal youth entrepreneurship
initiative would include:
• All students at all local schools — especially
potential “dropout factories”
18
schools with 40% or
more of the students eligible for free and reduced
meals — have access to entrepreneurship training.
• Available funds to support teacher training, curric-
ulum and professional development, and to evalu-
ate program design and outcomes.
• Strong partnerships between schools, businesses,
and community organizations, so that business
leaders can serve as mentors, coaches, and provide
other support to local programs.
Effective Entrepreneurship Education begins in the
classroom itself, so local action to encourage schools
to offer such training is an essential step. While
nearly everyone agrees that exposing youth to entre-
preneurship is a good idea, it is often dif?cult to move
from that basic consensus to a point where schools
offer a formal Entrepreneurship Education course.
As requirements to teach the core academics become
more stringent, educators have less ?exibility to offer
courses such as entrepreneurship or the creative arts.
To date, Entrepreneurship Education has been imple-
mented only when a visionary leader — sometimes a
teacher, sometimes a school administrator — has made
a personal commitment to make Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation take root in the community. But waiting for a
WHAT CAN POLICYMAKERS DO?
Report#1.indd 21 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
22 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Generation E, from Battle Creek, Michigan, has two
copyrighted curricula that teach entrepreneurial skills
through hands-on, student-based activities. The stu-
dents learn how to unleash their imaginations and de-
velop business ideas. After following the manual from
ideas to business plans, the students operate their own
business/service. The program is available statewide
in Michigan.
ESI — “Entrepreneurship Investigation” from the
University of Nebraska Extension is a collaborative
effort between a Nebraska land-grant university, the
state’s community college system, the State Depart-
ment of Education (K-12) and a former Congress-
man’s ?eld of?ce that resulted in a new, experiential
curriculum directed toward middle-school-age youth.
This program has found that middle school youth re-
spond well to experiential teaching methods. Several
delivery modes have been successfully tested, includ-
ing, clubs, camps, schools and a special event called
“Cyber Fair,” which is held annually at the State Fair.
What Can State Leaders Do?
At the state level, elected of?cials, education leaders,
and the business community should unite in support of
the following objectives:
• Adoption of state standards for youth Entrepre-
neurship Education.
• Creation of formal Entrepreneurship Education part-
nerships between primary and secondary schools,
community colleges, and four-year institutions.
• Creation of a State Advocate or State Advisory
Council for Entrepreneurship Education.
• Creation of a State Entrepreneurship Education
Innovation Fund.
• Creation of Statewide Youth Business Awards
Programs.
Including Entrepreneurship Education in formal
statewide education standards is the ?rst and most
important reform that can occur at the state level. At
present, only nine states include Entrepreneurship Ed-
ucation as a formal part of the K-12 curriculum. This
basic step is an essential component in encouraging
In addition to funding teacher training, many com-
munity organizations operate their own youth entre-
preneurship programs. These projects can be hosted
by a variety of groups, including Chambers of Com-
merce, local YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, Boy
Scouts/Girl Scouts, youth detention facilities or other
community-based organizations. Many localities
operate summer camps that focus on entrepreneurship.
In Iowa, the Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepre-
neurship runs a series of summer camps that target
both elementary and middle school students.
When communities embrace youth entrepreneurship,
they certainly empower youth but also help strengthen
community pride. Gainesville Florida’s Buchholz
High School Academy of Entrepreneurship (http://
www.spiritspotbhs.com/) offers an excellent example
of a comprehensive high-school based program. The
Academy has operated for 14 years, providing a
four-year course of study to more than 200 students
annually. Students manage their own entrepreneur-
ial ventures, and also help operate the Spirit Spot,
a school-based store that sells snacks, supplies, and
school souvenirs. The school is tightly linked to the
surrounding business community. It participates in
both Junior Achievement (www.ja,org) and DECA
(www.deca.org), and also sponsors partnerships with
the local community college and the University of
Florida. In addition, the Academy sponsors a wide
range of community events, such as a Film Festival,
an Auto Show, and local business plan competitions.
The program has received numerous state and national
awards over the past decade.
Cleveland, Ohio, is another hot spot for innovation
in the ?eld of youth Entrepreneurship Education.
Under the auspices of E-City (www.ecitycleveland.
com), Cleveland has recently opened E-Prep (the
Entrepreneurship Preparedness Academy), the city’s
?rst school devoted to the use of Entrepreneurship
Education as a means to prepare kids for college. The
program is now serving 6th – 8th graders, and the
?rst-year results were quite impressive. In one year,
E-Prep students saw a huge rise in average statewide
pro?ciency levels — from 7% in reading and 20%
in basic math, to 75% and 62%, respectively. In June
2009, the school has plans to run a month long youth
BizCamp for all 8th graders.
Report#1.indd 22 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 23
Education helped created NET-Force (http://www.fu-
tureforcenebraska.org/Talent_PP/Entrepreneurship/), a
statewide effort to infuse Entrepreneurship Education
at all levels of the education system. In West Virginia,
an Entrepreneurship Coordinator operates within the
State Department of Education. In this role, the Co-
ordinator provides technical assistance to schools and
teachers, advocates for Entrepreneurship Education
training, and also manages partnerships with business
and economic-development organizations. In Ohio’s
Department of Education, Workforce Development
Of?ce, a new Coordinator for 21st Century Skills has
been charged to establish entrepreneurship across the
K-12 system beginning in the 2008-09 school year.
Create a State Entrepreneurship Education
Innovation Fund
While effective Entrepreneurship Education programs
share common principles, there is no one best way to
engage youth in the process of thinking and acting like
entrepreneurs. Creativity and innovation on the part
of educators and other partners are critical. And states
should consider creating small pools of funding to
help stimulate such innovation. These funds could be
managed by a state advocate or advisory council, or by
a state Department of Education. The fund would pro-
vide small seed grants — to support teacher training or
development of new Entrepreneurship Education mod-
els — that would help advance the ?eld. The fund
could operate as a demonstration grant program or as
an annual competition. At the regional level, the Ap-
palachian Regional Commission operated the Spring-
board Awards in 2002 and 2003, which provided
modest grants ($2,000) to exemplary programs. This
relatively small seed funding helped provide outside
recognition to local programs, as well as encouraged
other Appalachian communities to embrace youth
Entrepreneurship Education training. At the national
level, the Coleman Foundation has sponsored elevator
grant competitions for high-school and college-level
programs at various annual conferences.
Create State Award Programs
State business plan competitions or Youth Entrepre-
neur of the Year awards programs are a high-impact,
low-cost way to get young people excited about en-
trepreneurial careers. Numerous business plan com-
teachers and school administrators to introduce Entre-
preneurship Education into their own classrooms.
Beyond including Entrepreneurship Education in
statewide curricula, a second important step involves
partnerships at different levels in the education sys-
tem. Colleges and universities have aggressively
embraced Entrepreneurship Education in recent years.
In fact, two-thirds of all U.S. colleges and universities
now teach entrepreneurship.
21
Community college
interest is similarly high, with a new National As-
sociation for Community College Entrepreneurship
(NACCE) growing rapidly.
It makes sense for schools to tap into this emerging
expertise. Colleges and universities can help provide
training for teachers, development of new curricula,
and mentorship for students. The Michigan Entre-
preneur Education Network (MEEN)
22
offers one
example of how these partnerships might operate.
Started by the Small Business Association of Michi-
gan, MEEN serves as a clearinghouse for the state’s
Entrepreneurship Education advocates. It also spon-
sors annual training conferences, helps design curri-
cula and training materials, and publishes an inventory
of programs across the state. It links educators at the
university, community-college, and K-12 levels.
Create State Advocate or a State
Advisory Council
Several states have created a State Advocate for Entre-
preneurship Education. This advocacy role is often
based in a single, statewide of?ce, but could also oper-
ate through a broader advisory council that includes
educators, elected of?cials, business representatives,
and other stakeholders. Every state now includes an
informal group that helps build statewide networks
of entrepreneurship programs at all levels and spon-
sors activities tied to National Entrepreneurship Week
(next held from February 21-28, 2009). Global Entre-
preneurship Week (November 2008) and National Mi-
nority Entrepreneurship Week (September 2008) are
other initiatives that encourage the promotion of en-
trepreneurs. Some state governments have gone even
further and created the formal position of a statewide
Entrepreneurship Education advocate. Nebraska and
West Virginia are good examples of this approach. In
Nebraska, advocates in the Nebraska Department of
Report#1.indd 23 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
24 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
the national dialogue on preparing youth with the skills
needed to compete in the 21st Century.
While policy decisions will likely be generated at the
state and local levels, this does not mean that fed-
eral policymakers should be hands-off. There are a
number of critical areas where federal investments
are required to ensure that states and localities can
effectively introduce Entrepreneurship Education in
schools and community organizations. In addition,
federal policymakers need to support efforts that align
national initiatives with ongoing efforts at the state,
regional, and local levels.
Within these broad categories of supporting policy
alignment and investing in education innovations,
several speci?c action items stand out:
No Child Left Behind Act
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the No Child
Left Behind Act, it should consider new standards for
Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial literacy should be
included as an accompaniment to current standards for
reading and math literacy. In addition, a pilot program
to provide entrepreneurship education to a statistically
signi?cant middle- and high-school population would
provide invaluable information to support initial
research on the effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation in reducing drop-out rates, increasing relevance
of core curriculum and promoting ?nancial literacy
and community economic development.
Higher Education Act
New efforts to promote Entrepreneurship Education
can also be generated in the Higher Education Act. A
newly proposed program called Path to Success is es-
pecially promising on this front. This program would
fund community-college-based initiatives that target
at-risk and low-income youth, including ex-offenders,
and place a special emphasis on helping these individ-
uals re-enter the workforce. It is expected that many
of these local programs will emphasize Entrepreneur-
ship Education due to its proven capacity to engage
at-risk youth and provide needed life skills.
Financial Literacy
President Bush has recently appointed a President’s
Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, with the
competitions, such as the NFIB Young Entrepreneur of
the Year awards, exist at the national level, but many
states also sponsor their own efforts. Good examples
include Iowa’s Pappajohn Centers programs, which
also provide small seed grants (up to $400) to help
local leaders to set up their own competitions. Both
West Virginia’s business plans and North Carolina’s
“Hop on the Bus” competition, targeting grades 9-12,
present other excellent models.
Most of these statewide competitions target high school
students or even students at the college level. Some
states have moved to engage students before high
school. The Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase (YES)
for Arkansas is a statewide business plan competition
for students in grades 5-8. West Virginia has sponsored
an annual Lemonade Stand event, where elementary
schools compete to have the most creative, innovative,
and pro?table lemonade stand. The students set up
their stands in the rotunda of the State Capitol.
While many states operate innovative Entrepreneur-
ship Education programs, North Dakota’s Marketplace
for Kids (www.marketplaceforkids.org) may be one
of the best-established. Begun in 1995 in Jamestown,
the Marketplace now operates across the state and
annually serves 16,000 youths in grades 4-6. Students
receive entrepreneurship training and then develop
new business ideas that they present at ten Market-
place Days, held across the state. The North Dakota
Chamber of Commerce is a co-sponsor and sends
a team of businesspeople to each of these events to
coach the students. The Chamber facilitates patents
for the students by having attorneys at each Market-
place Day. The program has been hugely successful,
has strong support from key state leaders, and has re-
ceived funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
What Can Federal Policy Makers Do?
Because most investment for education occurs at the
state and local levels, the federal government assumes
an important advocacy and supporting role to ensure the
expansion of promising best practices nationwide. Fed-
eral agencies and programs focus on investing in best
practices, information sharing and dissemination, and in
providing additional support and resources for commu-
nities or students with special needs. Federal agencies
will likely assume a similar role when it comes to pro-
moting Entrepreneurship Education and can commence
Report#1.indd 24 10/30/08 6:37:56 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 25
important charge of improving federal support for
?nancial literacy education. This is an important
initiative, especially in wake of the current sub-prime
mortgage lending and economic crisis. Entrepreneur-
ial education is an effective way to present critical
?nancial tools to young people in a format that is both
relevant and accessible. Where possible, programs
in economics and Entrepreneurship Education should
also be promoted and supported by the Advisory
Council under the U.S. Treasury Department as young
people need to learn how to invest in themselves,
make money, and learn how to manage their assets. In
many youth entrepreneurship programs, young people
are helping their families with basic needs and shoul-
der great responsibility. One NFTE teacher in Prince
George’s County re?ected that four of her top students
have helped their parents ?nancially with purchasing
their ?rst homes in the past two years . The Advisory
Council and other stakeholders should also commit to
making these resources more readily available to those
in need and work with the Department of Education,
DOL and other State departments on a scalability plan
to expand youth entrepreneurship and ?nancial educa-
tion to all America’s youth.
The best way to communicate to those lacking aware-
ness of ?nancial education resources is to make the re-
sources available and accessible in existing gathering
places in the community — public facilities utilized
by members of the community. These existing places
include, and are not limited to, schools, libraries, pub-
lic recreation facilities, and local government of?ces.
By leveraging the resources of practitioners and other
professionals, awareness and access to resources can
be met.
Workforce Development
Entrepreneurship Education can be and has been
incorporated into ongoing programs managed by the
Department of Labor. In particular, the Of?ce of
Workforce Investment’s (OWI) Division of Youth
Services is an appropriate place for these initiatives.
In 2007 & 2008, leaders of the YES Group have been
meeting with ETA and Whitepapers have been sub-
mitted. This of?ce has a mission of preparing at-risk
youth to become effective job seekers. We believe
that these young people can also become job creators
and equity builders by starting their own ventures.
“I SAID YES! MY OWN BUSINESS”
by Fantashia S. Stevens
My name is Fantashia S. Stevens; I graduated from Jane
Addams Business Careers Center High School. I currently
go to Cuyahoga Community College, in Cleveland, Ohio and
am transferring to Savannah College of Art and Design in
Savannah, Georgia. I am going to college to study Fashion
Design and Business Management. The business I started is
Fizzalae Botanical Blends. I make customized bath and body
products from all-organic materials for people with sensitive
skin and personal hygiene needs, as well as operating a Bed
and Breakfast in Ohio.
I completed the E-CITY program in the spring of 2003 at Al-
exander Hamilton Middle School in Cleveland. I did not place
in my class competition but since then have won 10 awards.
The E CITY program gave me my con?dence and helped me
to pursue a job as Junior Partner of a Ben and Jerry’s Kiosk at
Hopkins International Airport. I was an honoree of an event
that we have here in Cleveland called the Three Guys Event; I
was also honored for entrepreneurship at the Cleveland Ernst
and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards banquet. I’ve
been on television three times and have spoken at the E CITY
Annual breakfast that we have every year. I’ve had several
articles written about me in Crain’s Magazine, and several
other local publications. I’ve been able to meet some of the
top executives in the world. People know who I am now!
While in the program I was preoccupied and kept out of
trouble. I made new friends and learned the value of a dollar
at a young age. My ?rst of?cial job was when I started my
business, they taught me to be persistent. I learned all types
of useful information by the time I graduated from the class
I was able to check stocks, ?le my own taxes, and create a
budget for anything as well as how to write a business plan.
One guy even told me that he was in his thirties before he
found out about the word entrepreneur. It made me feel good
to know something that someone triple my age didn’t know. I
stayed out of trouble while in the program and calmed down
a lot with my hanging on the streets. I got so consumed in
my business that I was living it, my whole life surrounded
around my business. I was able to start young doing what I
love the most.
Entrepreneurship education is good for kids because it’s not
just about running a business it’s also about running your
life. The entrepreneurship side is just a plus. The future
depends on our generation and if we all learned how to run
our own business then we would be able to live in a fully
functional community.
The mere fact that a kid knows about entrepreneurship is a
plus in the job ?eld. Society is split into two sections; those
that work for themselves and those that work for others. In
learning entrepreneurship you learn how to do both so you
can work for yourself and work for others and are ahead of
the curve.
Report#1.indd 25 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
26 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
include funding for Entrepreneurship Education. Any
future WIRED investments, or investments in similar
regional programs, should include explicit support for
Entrepreneurship Education as an approved activity.
The U.S. Department of Labor is also currently fund-
ing several other important efforts. Under the presi-
dent’s High Growth Industries initiative, the agency
is seeking new tools that integrate entrepreneurship
services into the Workforce Investment system. In
addition, Project GATE (Growing America through
Entrepreneurship) is testing new approaches that
provide entrepreneurship training to displaced workers
and others seeking employment assistance.
In addition to future Department of Labor projects or
similar regional investments, youth entrepreneurship
programs may also be able to tap into new funding
sources created in the 2007 Farm Bill. The bill cre-
ated a new Rural Micro Entrepreneur Assistance pro-
gram to fund local and regional rural microenterprise
and Entrepreneurship Education efforts. The program
is funded at $15 million for 2009, and $40 million
annually in subsequent years. Program details are still
being determined, but this effort should include new
supports for rural youth Entrepreneurship Education.
Entrepreneurship Education
Clearinghouse/Advocate
Because entrepreneurship is at the heart of so many
diverse challenges in America, it is universally popu-
lar. But Entrepreneurship Education as a policy is not
explicitly recognized as an essential contributor to
educational change, economic development, work-
force development, juvenile delinquency, anti-poverty,
micro-enterprise, and small business success. Be-
cause entrepreneurship can cut across so many policy
areas and disciplines, it is often dif?cult for com-
munity leaders to identify effective support programs
and strategies. A federal clearinghouse that shares
information on these policies could make an important
contribution in disseminating effective models and
“best practices.”
Recently, the U.S. Small Business Administration cre-
ated its own Of?ce of Entrepreneurship Education to
serve as an advocate for Entrepreneurship Education.
In addition to supporting new policy developments,
this initiative would combine SBA’s current online
To date, the Division of Youth Services has made
important contributions through programs like Youth
Build, the Prisoner Reentry Initiative, and other
related efforts. These worthy initiatives need to be
supplemented with new investments that promote
entrepreneurship as another path for youth from low-
income communities. In fact, OWI should consider
creating a demonstration grant program that tests vari-
ous approaches to providing Entrepreneurship Educa-
tion resources to low-income youth.
Community Reinvestment Act
First enacted in 1977, the Community Reinvestment
Act (CRA) requires that banks and other ?nancial
institutions invest a portion of their holdings in dis-
advantaged communities and businesses. To put it
simply, CRA requires that banks invest where they
do business. Since its enactment, CRA has helped
stimulate billions of dollars of new investment and
new services in distressed communities.
CRA lending and investing have been used for a vari-
ety of purposes. Typical uses might be for the con-
struction of affordable housing, support for ?nancial
planning consulting, or for lending to minority-owned
businesses. At present, CRA regulations do not ex-
plicitly permit the use of CRA credits to support youth
Entrepreneurship Education. This situation should be
remedied so that youth Entrepreneurship Education is
explicitly listed as an approved “community develop-
ment service.” Youth Entrepreneurship Education
clearly meets the spirit and intent of CRA’s support
for “community development services.” By providing
?nancial literacy, business skills, and career develop-
ment, Entrepreneurship Education empowers young
people and helps build stronger communities. This
shift in emphasis can occur via changes in regulation,
or, if needed, via a legislative mandate.
Regional Development
Youth entrepreneurship training is becoming a more
important component of federally backed regional
development initiatives. The Department of Labor’s
WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic
Development) is a case in point. WIRED has invested
more than $325 million in 39 different regional initia-
tives that seek to design and implement innovative eco-
nomic development strategies. A good number of these
Report#1.indd 26 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 27
Global Entrepreneurship Week was begun with sup-
port from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation,
but now includes hundreds of partners from around
the globe. It expands on the vision of National En-
trepreneurship Week by linking U.S.-based efforts
to similar initiatives underway in more than 70 other
countries. During the course of the week, thousands
of young people around the world will engage in
workshops, competitions, and other programs that are
designed to encourage them to embrace invention,
innovation, creativity, and imagination. These cel-
ebrations offer an excellent means to spread the word
about the power of entrepreneurship and to get young
people excited about the possibilities of owning their
own businesses. As we celebrate the contributions of
entrepreneurs in our economy we honor those indi-
viduals who have contributed to making our economy
the job generator it has been. These celebrations also
allow students and parents to see entrepreneurship as a
career option for becoming self suf?cient in the future
market places of the world.
education programs, business and community initia-
tives, and ongoing youth outreach efforts. This Of?ce
could assume the important federal role in improving
the dissemination of information. This is an important
?rst step, but other Federal cabinet-level agencies,
especially the Departments of Education and Treasury,
must also assume more prominent roles as govern-
ment-wide advocates for youth entrepreneurship.
Institutionalize National Entrepreneurship
Week and Global Entrepreneurship Week
Finally, policymakers should continue to support
national and global recognition of National Entrepre-
neurship Week (February 21-28, 2009) and Global
Entrepreneurship Week (November 17-23, 2008).
The vision of the Congressionally-mandated National
Entrepreneurship Week is to expand the visibility of
Entrepreneurship Education everywhere and institu-
tionalize the celebration of American entrepreneurs
and the lifelong learning educational opportunities
that will prepare the business leaders of the future.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
ration, and opportunity recognition. This mindset is
one of the real “secrets” of America’s prosperity as
it helps drives the creativity and innovation of our
workers, our companies, and our entrepreneurs. This
engine of innovation will be the primary driver of
our future economic competitiveness. If we want
America’s young people to be fully prepared to suc-
ceed in the 21st century, nurturing an entrepreneurial
mindset—via widespread use of youth entrepreneur-
ship education programs — must become a core part
of the American educational system.
The unique characteristics of Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation make it ideally suited to help address many
aspects of the crisis facing America’s workforce.
For example, these initiatives can help us address our
growing dropout crisis. Research into the factors that
cause dropouts indicate that many students feel disen-
gaged and bored in school. Entrepreneurship Educa-
tion offers a means to attack this lack of engagement
head on.
Yet aggressive entrepreneurship education can provide
other signi?cant bene?ts as well.
Entrepreneurship Education helps instill an entrepre-
neurial mindset — a critical mix of success-oriented
attitudes of initiative, intelligent risk-taking, collabo-
Report#1.indd 27 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
28 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
EPILOGUE:
SOMETHING YOUTH CAN SAY YES! TO
By Julie Silard Kantor
Vice President, The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
(NFTE Of?ce of Public Policy) and
Director, The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES Group)
Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University
about high school dropouts (see page 21).
The decision to drop out is a one-million-dollar deci-
sion in lost wages for each child who makes it. Fur-
ther, 90 percent of the fastest-growing employment
categories in America require a college degree — our
kids won’t be able to compete — many more jobs
will have to go overseas. In addition to Balfanz’s
eye-opening research, I encourage you to read John
Bridgeland’s “The Silent Epidemic.”
24
General Colin Powell recently spoke at an event for
America’s Promise that I attended to kick off the
Drop-Out Summits that will be taking place in 50
cities — to bring national awareness to this epidemic.
As General Powell notes, the dropout crisis impacts
our economy and even our national security. We can-
not remain a world superpower if we do not give our
children the resources they need to succeed.
The number one predictor of a child’s future success
is whether he or she will graduate — we can’t afford
to let nearly one-third of our kids fail. Powell con?rms
that just conferring a diploma is not enough. Students
must graduate with the knowledge and skills neces-
sary for success in college, work, and life.
Bridgeland interviewed high school dropouts and
asked them why they dropped out of school:
81% said they would not have if the subjects were
more relevant to real life.
Teaching children how to make it ?nancially (and we
are strong proponents of the growing ?nancial literacy
movement), how to own their futures as economically
productive members of society, is both real life and
relevant. Getting business leaders into classrooms to
share their expertise and optimism is key. Youth en-
trepreneurship engages young people and gives them a
I have gone to so many conferences and brie?ngs over
the last few months, and met with so many fascinat-
ing experts, that my head is spinning with endless data
points and facts on the subject of high-school dropout
rates and America’s competitiveness in the global
marketplace.
I am re?ecting now on why our cause — entrepre-
neurship education for low-income youth — matters
so much, especially considering the current economic
crisis. The stakes are high, since it can actually be
part of the solution to one of our country’s greatest
challenges: how to bring economically at-risk young
people into mainstream society.
Not only is this an important contemporary civil rights
issue, as power and in?uence in this country rests with
those who own (it is worth considering that we teach
our students to be employees but not to be owners),
but it is an issue of America’s future and competitive-
ness. It is important to also point out that entrepre-
neurship is a fundamental life skill. Most employ-
ers these days want to hire a more entrepreneurial
workforce, and a 2006 survey by Junior Achievement
found that 71% of middle and high school students
wanted to be self-employed at some point, up from
64% in 2004. In 2006, the National Center on Edu-
cation and the Economy (NCEE) released a critical
report calling for a major overhaul of the country’s
educational system. A report titled “Tough Choices,
Tough Times,” written by YESG’s Vice Chairman,
Thomas Payzant, highlights the link between educa-
tion and the economy and provides policy recommen-
dations for America’s schools.
Our 1.2 million dropouts costs over $329 billion in
lost wages annually — according to Bob Wise,
23
who
spoke to the YES Group at the Aspen Institute’s Wye
Center, where there was also compelling research
presented by Robert Balfanz of the Center for Social
Report#1.indd 28 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 29
Balfanz maintains that youth entrepreneurship is:
• a reason for kids to come to school
• an avenue for short-term success
• a help in providing a clear pathway to adult success
• a way to develop neighborhood assets
Did you know that, according to the Department of
Labor, the average American will have 8 to 10 jobs by
the age of 38? If I were going to have so many posi-
tions, I’d sure look at myself differently — as less
of an employee and more as a free agent. I’d want to
hone my entrepreneurial and networking skills, and
more — just to survive.
Many years ago, a NFTE graduate and business
owner, Michelle Araujo, summed it up:
My dream is not to die in poverty, but to have
poverty die in me!
We need to fast-track our work so we reach these kids
and not lose another generation of students before we
can teach them to fuel their dreams and have belief in
their own potential. We hope you will join us and say
YES! to education for all of our young people to ex-
plore their entrepreneurial potential, especially those
in low-income communities.
good reason to go to school. The drug war taught kids to
say No to drugs. Starting a legal enterprise is a concept
our young people can say Yes to. Some salient facts:
Research by the Harvard Graduate School of Educa-
tion has found that students, having taken a 50-plus-
hour course from NFTE, show:
• increased interest in attending college and height-
ened career aspirations
• increased feeling of control over their lives
• increased leadership behaviors
Findings from internal evaluation, conducted nation-
ally through an online system called TEAMS, further
indicate that contact with NFTE:
• increases engagement in school
• increases students’ sense of connection with adults
in business and the community
• increases independent reading
• Increases business and entrepreneurial knowledge
Report#1.indd 29 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
30 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 30 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
ENDNOTES
1
Norman Augustine, Is America Falling off the Flat Earth?, (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006), p.19.
2
Titus Galama and James Hosek, US Competitiveness in Science and Technology, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008).
3
Galama and Hosek.
4
To learn more, see John M. Bridgeland, John H. DiIuilio, Jr., and Karen Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of
High School Dropouts, Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises, 2006. Hereafter referred to as The Silent Epidemic. Available at
www.silentepidemic.org
5
Celia E. Rouse, “Labor Market Consequences of an Inadequate Education, “ 2005 Working Paper, citied in Alliance for Excel-
lent Education, “The High Cost of High School Dropouts,” Issue Brief, October 2007.http://www.all4ed.org/?les/HighCost.pdf
6
Alliance for Excellent Education, “Healthier and Wealthier: Decreasing Health Care Costs by Increasing Educational Attain-
ment.” Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006.
7
The Silent Epidemic, p. 3.
8
See, for example, Thomas K. Glennon, Jr., Susan J. Bodilly, Jolene R. Galagher, and Kerri A. Kerr (eds.), Expanding the Reach
of Education Reforms: Perspectives from Leaders in the Scale-Up of Educational Interventions, National Council on Competi-
tiveness, Innovation Initiative Summit, December 2004, Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
9
Council on Competitiveness, Innovate America, National Innovation Initiative and Summit Report, May 2005. Available athttp://www.compete.org/publications/detail/202/innovate-america/
10
“Kauffman Foundation Survey Finds Youth Energetic about Entrepreneurship,” Kauffman Foundation Press Release, Decem-
ber 10, 2007. Available at www.kauffman.org.
11
These principles were developed by the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. See “Criteria for Youth Entrepreneurship
Education” at www.ente-ed.org/criteria.
12
Quoted in Ibid.
13
See, for example, National Governor’s Association, A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,
Washington, DC: NGA, 2004.
14
Council on Competitiveness, Where America Stands: Entrepreneurship, Washington, DC: Council on Competitiveness, 2007.
15
Quoted in ibid
16
Robert Fairlie and Alicia Robb, “Why are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role
of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital,” Journal of Labor Economics, (2007), Vol. 25, no. 2., pp. 289-323.
17
Kyle Zinth, “Entrepreneurial Education Laws in the States,” Washington, DC: Education Commission of the States, February
2007.
18
The term “drop out factory” refers to a high school where less than sixty percent of incoming ninth graders remain in school
into their ?nal senior year. Overall, roughly 2,000 US high schools meet this de?nition. These schools represent fourteen per-
cent of all US high schools, but account for about half of all US high school drop outs. See Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters,
“Locating the Drop Out Crisis,” Center for the Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University, June 2004. Available at:http://www.csos.jhu.edu/tdhs/rsch/Locating_Dropouts.pdf
19
For examples of other local programs, see Appalachian Regional Commission, Appalachian Youth Entrepreneurship Spring-
board Award: 2002 and 2003 Winners, Washington, DC: ARC, 2004.
20
Available athttp://www.entre-ed.org/Standards_Toolkit/
21
Judith Cone,”Teaching Entrepreneurship in Colleges and Universities: How (and Why) a New Academic Field is Being Built,”
Kansas City: Kauffman Foundation, 2008. Available at:http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=716
22
To learn more, visithttp://www.sbam.org/content.php?id=711.
23
President of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
24
John M. Bridgeland, et al., The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. A report issued in association with
Peter D. Hart Research Association for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:. Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises, March 2006.
Report#1.indd 30 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 31
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Aspen Institute provided us with an array of
professional staff members who provided exceptional
guidance throughout this policy initiative. The Aspen
Institute Team: Peter Reiling, Executive Vice President;
Jim Spiegelman; Sogand Sepassi; Steve Johnson; Elliot
Gerson; Gary Huggins; Tarek Rizk; Elliott Gaskins,
and Joanna Herrmann.
We are extremely grateful for our colleagues at The
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship,
whose collective expertise and unrelenting passion for
the cause of entrepreneurship education has provided
the driving force behind this initiative: Steve Mariotti,
Founder; David Nelson, Chief Operating Of?cer; Amy
Rosen, President; Daniel Rabuzzi, Director of Sales;
Jeff Reid; NFTE Greater Washington Executive Direc-
tor; Nicole Rottino, Director of Marketing, and a very
special thanks to Gloria D. Sandiford, Program Man-
ager, for her exceptional behind the scenes contribu-
tions to the YES GROUP and this publication.
Finally, to those who contributed to our success but
were not mentioned above, we extend our sincere
appreciation.
First and foremost, the Youth Entrepreneurship Strat-
egy Group would like to thank its sponsors, E*TRADE
FINANCIAL and The Aspen Institute. If not for the
vision of these steadfast partners, the accomplishments
of YES GROUP would not have been possible. We are
deeply grateful for their unwavering commitment in
the funding and support for this initiative. The YES
GROUP also thanks The Burton D. Morgan Founda-
tion for its generous contribution and engagement.
The YES GROUP is grateful to have had the very
capable Erik Pages, of EntreWorks Consulting, leading
the project with our very talented YES GROUP Direc-
tor and NFTE Vice President of Public Policy, Julie
Silard Kantor. Erik is a consummate professional and
was a joy to work with.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all of our YES
GROUP members for their dedication to our mission,
and particularly those whose extra efforts proved vital
to the quality of this publication — namely: Stepha-
nie Bell-Rose (Chairperson); Thomas Payzant (Vice-
Chair); Cathy Ashmore; Deborah D. Hoover; Bruce
Dunbar; Celie Niehaus; Irv Katz; Marc Spencer; Mi-
chael J. Caslin; Andy Hahn; and Diana Davis Spencer,
as well as the Goldman Sachs team, which included
Lisa Calandra; Anuja Khemka; and Juan Sabater; and
we want to highlight as well from the Consortium for
Entrepreneurship Education, Horace Robertson.
Report#1.indd 31 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
32 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
TOP LEADERS ARE SAYING YES!
TO YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IN AMERICA’S SCHOOLS
WHAT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ARE SAYING…
I realized that I had goals and plans for my future. I realized that I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything
get in the way of my dreams. Entrepreneurship is no longer a hidden talent of mine, but is my reality. Now
I’m on my way to studying business in college.
– Braulio Salas, CEO & President, Virtual Art Gallery, Inc.
I’m a sixteen year-old junior at the Marymount School in New York. I used to associate entrepreneur-
ship with “Wall Street Types,” those men and women in great suits who seemed to be the brains behind the
world’s newest and most innovative products and services. Through my entrepreneurship class in Summer
2007 sponsored by Goldman Sachs at Prep for Prep, I began to grasp a true understanding of what it means
to be an entrepreneur. I was right, initially, to believe that entrepreneurs were the harbingers of skillful
innovation. They are not, however, concentrated only in the Wall Street area but instead are from all over,
and come from various walks of life. The local delis and supermarkets, that chic boutique that has all this
season’s “must-haves”, and even the hot-dog cart on the street are all entrepreneurial enterprises. Sooner
or later, I knew I was going to join that group.
– Gabrielle Green, President, Longevi-Teas™
WHAT GOVERNMENT LEADERS ARE SAYING…
We need to equip today’s aspiring entrepreneurs with every tool possible to succeed. That means making
sure they receive a strong ?nancial education that prepares them for the unique challenges and opportuni-
ties of the 21st century. A solid background in ?nance and business skills will help the next generation to
compete and succeed.
– Sen John Kerry, Chairman
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship training provides at-risk youth an opportunity to learn how to function in the marketplace
and strengthen their community’s economy. High quality entrepreneurship training can help ensure a better
quality of life for the individual entrepreneur and their community as a whole.
- House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller
I
SAID
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Report#1.indd 32 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 33
The most important economic stimulus package our nation can develop is combining quality education
with an entrepreneurial attitude to meet the crisis of over one million high school dropouts a year. We need
to teach our youth to be ‘owners’ of their lives. I Say YES! to youth entrepreneurship education in our na-
tion’s schools.
- Governor Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education, Former Governor, West Virginia
Youth entrepreneurship offers the promise of encouraging rural students to see that their opportunities can
be greater then working in the local mill or mine. The skills provided by these programs might not be used
right away, but the spark is one that can be nurtured for years – and carried back home to start that busi-
ness and provide jobs, opportunity, and hope in their home town.
– Ray Daffner, Appalachian Regional Commission
WHAT EDUCATIONAL LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global marketplace is the most
important responsibility in education today. Providing them [youth] with guidance and opportunity at the
most critical junctures along their educational journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship edu-
cation is an important tool in achieving these goals.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation & Thomas W. Payzant, Professor at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education and Former Superintendent of Boston Public Schools
The economic engine of America is fueled by the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of its people. The most
important thing we can do for our future is to nurture these values in our young people by providing edu-
cational opportunities for them to explore and learn about entrepreneurship. All of us in education should
do what we can to inspire our students, build upon their interests and native curiosity, and engage them in
meaningful learning.
- George R. Boggs, President and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges
NEA applauds Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America’s Schools. Today’s students will work in mul-
tiple jobs over the course of their careers, possibly working for themselves, and this requires entrepreneurial
skills. Not only must students have subject matter knowledge, but also they need 21st century skills to prob-
lem-solve, work with diverse people, and develop sophistication about areas affecting their personal well-
being, such as how to make good choices about their ?nancial security. This can be a very exciting future
for students -- but they must be empowered with knowledge and skills.
– John I. Wilson, Executive Director, National Education Association
To thrive in our new world, our students need strong analytical, communication and interpersonal skills.
They must be more entrepreneurial, willing to take risks and able to tolerate greater ambiguity. These chal-
lenges and opportunities compel us to reexamine our current education practices and banish any assump-
tions that what was good enough for us is good enough for our kids. This implies doing what works and
transforming what doesn’t.
– Gene R. Carter, Executive Director, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Report#1.indd 33 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
34 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Entrepreneurship provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a successful career.
These students learn lessons that can be applied in other areas of their life, such as leadership, math, writing,
and speaking skills. Youth should be encouraged to take courses that enhance their understanding of business
and ?nancial matters and provide youth with con?dence to follow their dreams in owning their own business.
– Jan Bray, Executive Director, Association for Career and Technology Education
Ideas like entrepreneurship education show that we can engage kids in ways that are relevant to their lives
and teach them the content and skills they need to be successful. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about business,
it’s about problem solving, critical thinking, and tenacity, skills that we want all students to leave school with
regardless of their career path.
– Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Education Sector
Learning how to bring new ideas into the world through entrepreneurship empowers young people to develop
their talents and con?dence while helping their communities. Entrepreneurship education helps connect
youth to their futures by enabling them to see how possibilities can become realities.
– Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor, Stanford University and Education
Policy Advisor to Sen. Barack Obama
I believe that American youth are among the world’s most imaginative populations, constantly inventing and
reinventing themselves and the country’s youth culture, and forming businesses… Entrepreneurship education
requires three things: well-targeted programs in places of greatest need, expansion, and a steady focus on
providing high-quality training. As a nation of innovators, we can do it all.
– Andrew Hahn, Professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
Education and entrepreneurship are two pillars of the America’s free enterprise system. All members of soci-
ety bene?t from a strong economy. A way to bolster the markets of the future is to plant the seed of entrepre-
neurship in the minds of our country’s youth today. Encourage creativity, innovation, risk-taking and, most of
all, encourage our youth to pursue their dreams.
– Michael T. Victor, President, Lake Erie College
WHAT BUSINESS LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Without role models and examples of successful business people in their own communities, our youth often
see the American Dream as either ‘hype’ or a pipe dream. Our young people need to know they have viable
place in our market economy. NFTE is part of the solution to bring entrepreneurship to the young people
who need it most. It’s a leveraged organization that will have a great ROI for our city and nation.
- Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman, AOL, LLC; Owner Washington Capitals
Every child needs hope and opportunity. Hope and opportunity are driven by education. If a child does not
have opportunity in his or her education hope and opportunity dissolves.You get unrest and despair and
violence. If you train more entrepreneurs they create more jobs and opportunities. We need to multiply that.
The better job we do the safer the world will be.
– Craig Barrett, Chairman Intel
Report#1.indd 34 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 35
As a relatively young company, E*TRADE believes in the power of entrepreneurship. We’ve partnered with
The Aspen Institute, through its YES Group, to accelerate the pace of change in public education by sup-
porting, connecting, and sustaining education entrepreneurs and innovators. We are pleased to be part of
an initiative that is convening entrepreneurial leaders in public education to create a common agenda for
broad-based systemic change in the ?eld. We believe a core component of that change element is ?nancial
literacy and teaching entrepreneurship to young people from all communities, including lower-income com-
munities. We understand the time is now to teach youth the lessons of our past and prepare them for changes
in our future.
– Celie Niehaus, Senior Vice President & Chief Compliance Of?cer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL
WHAT PHILANTHROPIC LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Entrepreneurship education inspires young people to do all the right things—understand the relevance of
a good education, gain ?nancial literacy, plan for ?nancial independence, explore their talents, and most
importantly, stay in school and develop pathways to college. All students, no matter where they are raised,
deserve this chance for opportunity and growth. It has never been more important to America’s economic
system than it is today for young people to be fully prepared to navigate successfully the vicissitudes of the
world of work.
- Deborah D. Hoover, President, The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Hudson, Ohio
By any calculation, the steadily escalating impact of the dropout crisis requires immediate countermeasures
and new ways of thinking about high-school education…America cannot expect to compete in the global
economy when 30 to 50 percent of our students do not graduate. Increasing the high school graduation rate
by just 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year... Policymakers
need to put entrepreneurship education at the forefront of their agendas.
– Diana Davis Spencer, President, Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
By investing in entrepreneurship education programs, funders can open an exciting world of possibilities to
young people, and help them develop new con?dence, skills, and ambitions along the way.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation
Youth the world over are increasingly expressing their desire to learn about and engage in entrepreneurship.
Opportunities to encourage children and youth to launch businesses, even while still young, are proliferating
but more must be done. Young people in large numbers report that they want to play a signi?cant role in elimi-
nating poverty, improving their communities, and creating the future through innovation, imagination, and
opportunity recognition. This is a generation that is excited about “making a job” and not just ‘taking a job.’
-Carl J. Schramm, President and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Report#1.indd 35 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
36 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
At a time when America’s leadership in the global economy is being challenged by a host of nations on the
rise, we must give all young people the opportunities and encouragement they need in order to unleash their
full potential. Aspen Institute’s Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group will expand entrepreneurship educa-
tion to schools across the country—helping millions of students from all backgrounds to see themselves for
the ?rst time as the future business leaders and innovators our economy and society need.
– Mario Morino, Chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners
WHAT COMMUNITY LEADERS AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
ARE SAYING…
Research indicates that greater connection with ‘real world’ activities and applications keeps kids engaged
and in school. To the extent that we want to crack the code of the drop-out problem in the United States,
entrepreneurship education is an essential part of the combination.
– Charles Hiteshew, COO, America’s Promise
At its most basic, educating youth about entrepreneurship provides them with ?nancial and business skills
they can use in every facet of their lives. More importantly, it gives them a path to follow for turning their
ideas into thriving businesses, along with the inspiration and empowerment to do so. To stimulate entrepre-
neurial activity and develop the business owners and civic leaders of the future, there’s no better investment
than education.
– Ray Leach, CEO, JumpStart Inc.
Too many young people just give up on their education when told, “ If you don’t go to college you won’t
amount to anything.” Entrepreneurship education provides the motivation necessary for these high school
and middle school students to see themselves as owners, even millionaires, and aspire to make it happen
with pursuit of education. Even elementary school isn’t too early to start acquiring the knowledge and
experience necessary to create an entrepreneurial-based, success-driven mindset. We need to all remember,
“The Entrepreneurs of tomorrow are in our schools today!”
– Cathy Ashmore, Executive Director, Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
I support the work of the Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group to place entrepreneurship education in
every school in America, because we must make education relevant to our youth. I grew up in South Central
Los Angeles and Compton, California, and I have seen ?rsthand the almost natural entrepreneurial spirits
of young people there. I was one of them, starting my ?rst business at age 10. I am an entrepreneur today
because of that early experience. I believe that our kids are dropping out of high school at record rates be-
cause they don’t believe that education is relevant to their futures. How to make education relevant to their
futures? Show kids how to create wealth, legally. That’s ?nancial literacy, free enterprise and capitalism,
silver rights, and entrepreneurship.
– John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Of?cer Operation HOPE, Inc.
Vice Chairman, U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy Washington, DC
Report#1.indd 36 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 37
During 2008 we had the greatest number of inquiries concerning our Entrepreneurship programs from
high school students in the U.S. than in any of the previous eight years. Young people today are starting
and operating real businesses in numbers never considered possible. We must do all we can to support and
encourage these Young Entrepreneurs.
– Hank Kopcial, Executive Director, NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation
Having professionals equipped with entrepreneurial abilities and the desire to be creative and innovative in
the marketplace is critical for our economy to thrive. The States’ Career Clusters Initiative has speci?cally
identi?ed the relevance of entrepreneurship in the context of the Business Management and Administration
Cluster but we recognize the value of these skills across all career clusters.
At both the high school and post secondary levels students are enrolling in career technical education
classes and seeing that these classes provide relevance and focus to their education. I am pleased that the
SAY YES! campaign has identi?ed how exposure to entrepreneurship will help students stay engaged in their
educational pursuits.
– Kimberly A. Green, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical
Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)
I know a secret which, if fully understood by our government, business, and
community leaders, could have enormous positive implications for the future of
our society.
Simply put, the secret is this: Children born into poverty develop special gifts
that prepare them for business formation and wealth creation. They are mentally
strong, resilient, and full of chutzpah. They are skeptical of hierarchies and the
status quo. They are long-suffering in the face of adversity. They are comfortable
with risk and uncertainty. They know how to deal with stress and con?ict. These
are the attitudes and abilities that make them ideally suited for breaking out of
the cycle of dependency that so often comes with poverty, ideally suited for get-
ting ahead in the marketplace.
In short, youth from low-income communities have “street smarts,” or what we
at NFTE call “business smarts.” Precisely because of their background — that
is, because of their experience surviving in a challenging world — they are able
to perceive and pursue short-lived opportunities that others, more content with
their lot in life, can easily miss.
— Steve Mariotti, Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. (NFTE)
Report#1.indd 37 10/30/08 1:14:45 PM
38 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
STEPHANIE BELL-ROSE
(Chairperson)
Managing Director
Goldman, Sachs, and Co.
and
President
Goldman Sachs Foundation
THOMAS PAYZANT
(Vice Chairperson)
Professor of Practice
Harvard University Graduate School of Education
and
Former Superintendent
Boston Public Schools
CATHY ASHMORE
Executive Director
Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
TIM BRADY
Chief Executive Of?cer
QuestBridge
MAYNARD BROWN
Lead Faculty member
Business Management and Entrepreneurship Academy
Crenshaw High School, LA
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY GROUP
WHO WE ARE:
The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES GROUP) is a collaborative initiative of the Aspen Institute in partner-
ship with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and E*TRADE FINANCIAL. We convene
prominent leaders from the ?elds of education, entrepreneurship and business, public policy, the media, and philanthropy
to explore the promise of, and obstacles to, implementing youth entrepreneurship education in low-income communities
nationwide. Our 35 members represent thousands of teachers and hundreds of thousands of youths throughout the U.S.
and abroad:
Goldman Sachs Foundation • Harvard School of Education • Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education • QuestBridge
• Crenshaw High School, LA • Communities In Schools • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development •
Babson College • Miami-Dade County Public Schools • DECA Inc., • OppenheimerFunds, Inc. • KIPP: Knowledge is
Power Program • Brandeis University • The Coleman Foundation • America’s Promise • The Alliance for Youth • The
Burton D. Morgan Foundation • W.K. Kellogg Foundation • National Human Services Assembly • JA Worldwide •
National Governors Association • The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship • E*TRADE FINANCIAL
• Corporation for Enterprise Development • VSP Capital • Education Sector and Eduwonk.com • National Education
Association • Kathryn W. Davis Foundation • Juma Ventures, Inc. • Philadelphia University • Miami Dade College •
Alliance for Excellent Education • E-Prep • National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship
Produced from the ?rst convening was the YES Group conference report, Advancing Entrepreneurship Education:
www.aspeninstitute.org/yesg.
YES GROUP MEMBERS DANIEL CARDINALI
President
Communities in Schools
GENE CARTER
Executive Director
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
MICHAEL J. CASLIN, III
Babson College
RUDOLPH F. CREW
Superintendent
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
EDWARD L. DAVIS
Executive Director
DECA Inc.
BRUCE C. DUNBAR
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Sr. Vice President
and
Director of Corporate Communications
MICHAEL FEINBERG
Co-Founder
KIPP: Knowledge is Power Program
Report#1.indd 38 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 39
Copyright ©2008 by The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute
One Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20036-1133
Published in the United States of America
in 2008 by the Aspen Institute
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN: 0-89843-497-1
Pub: 08/016
ANDREW B. HAHN
Director
The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
and
Professor
The Heller School
Brandeis University
MICHAEL W. HENNESSY
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The Coleman Foundation
CHARLES HITESHEW
Chief Operating Of?cer
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth
DEBORAH D. HOOVER
President
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
VALORIE J. JOHNSON
Program Director
W.K Kellogg Foundation
IRV KATZ
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The National Human Services Assembly
JACK E. KOSAKOWSKI
Executive Vice President
and
Chief Operating Of?cer
JA Worldwide
DANE LINN
Director
Education Division
National Governors Association
STEVE J. MARIOTTI
Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
CELIE NIEHAUS
Senior Vice President
E*TRADE FINANCIAL
KIM PATE
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
CFED
JOANNA REES
Founder
VSP Capital
ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM
Co-Founder
and
Co-Director, Education Sector
Editor, Eduwonk.com
CHARLES ROUSSEL
SHEILA SIMMONS
Director
National Education Association
DIANA DAVIS SPENCER
President
Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
MARC SPENCER
Chief Executive Of?cer
Juma Ventures
STEPHEN SPINELLI, JR.
President
Philadelphia University
H. LEIGH TONEY
Executive Director
Entrepreneurial Education Center
Miami Dade College
HEATHER VAN SICKEL
Executive Director
National Association of Community College
Entrepreneurship
GOVERNOR BOB WISE
Former Governor of West Virginia
and
President
Alliance for Excellent Education
JOHN ZITZNER
President
Friends of E-Prep Schools
and
Co-Founder
Entrepreneurship Preparatory School
YES GROUP MANAGEMENT TEAM
PETER REILING
Executive Vice President
Leadership and Seminar Programs
and
Executive Director
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
The Aspen Institute
JULIE SILARD KANTOR
Director of YES Group and
National Vice President
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
GLORIA D. SANDIFORD
Public Policy Program Manager
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
Report#1_for_cover.indd 2 10/30/08 1:17:28 PM
We need to equip today’s aspiring entrepreneurs with every tool possible to succeed.
That means making sure they receive a strong ?nancial education that prepares them
for the unique challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. A solid background in
?nance and business skills will help the next generation to compete and succeed.
– Sen John Kerry, Chairman, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship training provides at-risk youth an opportunity to learn how to function
in the marketplace and strengthen their community’s economy. High quality entrepre-
neurship training can help ensure a better quality of life for the individual entrepreneur
and their community as a whole.
– House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller
My dream is not to die in poverty, but to have poverty die in me.
– Michelle Araujo, President, A’La Mode Fashions.
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global
marketplace is the most important responsibility in education today. Providing them
[youth] with guidance and opportunity at the most critical junctures along their educa-
tional journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship education is an impor-
tant tool in achieving these goals.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation &
Thomas W. Payzant, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and
Former Superintendent of Boston Public Schools
Youth the world over are increasingly expressing their desire to learn about and engage
in entrepreneurship. Opportunities to encourage children and youth to launch busi-
nesses, even while still young, are proliferating but more must be done. Young people
in large numbers report that they want to play a signi?cant role in eliminating poverty,
improving their communities, and creating the future through innovation, imagination,
and opportunity recognition. This is a generation that is excited about “making a job”
and not just ‘taking a job.’
– Carl J. Schramm, President and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Research indicates that greater connection with ‘real world’ activities and applications
keeps kids engaged and in school. To the extent that we want to crack the code of the
drop-out problem in the United States, entrepreneurship education is an essential part
of the combination.
– Charles Hiteshew, COO, America’s Promise
The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES Group)
c/o The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
1990 M Street, Suite 740 NW Washington DC 20036
T: 202-215-6383 or 212-232-3333 ext 331 • F: 212-232-2244
Email: [email protected]
www.aspeninstitute.org/yesg
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Report#1.indd 40 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
doc_869659814.pdf
This particular brief outline clarify youth entrepreneurship education in america a policymakers action guide.
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IN AMERICA:
A POLICYMAKER’S ACTION GUIDE
Presented by the Aspen Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group
Report#1.indd 1 10/29/08 10:21:42 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 39
Copyright ©2008 by The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute
One Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20036-1133
Published in the United States of America
in 2008 by the Aspen Institute
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN: 0-89843-497-1
Pub: 08/016
ANDREW B. HAHN
Director
The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
and
Professor
The Heller School
Brandeis University
MICHAEL W. HENNESSY
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The Coleman Foundation
CHARLES HITESHEW
Chief Operating Of?cer
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth
DEBORAH D. HOOVER
President
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
VALORIE J. JOHNSON
Program Director
W.K Kellogg Foundation
IRV KATZ
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The National Human Services Assembly
JACK E. KOSAKOWSKI
Executive Vice President
and
Chief Operating Of?cer
JA Worldwide
DANE LINN
Director
Education Division
National Governors Association
STEVE J. MARIOTTI
Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
CELIE NIEHAUS
Senior Vice President
E*TRADE FINANCIAL
KIM PATE
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
CFED
JOANNA REES
Founder
VSP Capital
ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM
Co-Founder
and
Co-Director, Education Sector
Editor, Eduwonk.com
CHARLES ROUSSEL
SHEILA SIMMONS
Director
National Education Association
DIANA DAVIS SPENCER
President
Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
MARC SPENCER
Chief Executive Of?cer
Juma Ventures
STEPHEN SPINELLI, JR.
President
Philadelphia University
H. LEIGH TONEY
Executive Director
Entrepreneurial Education Center
Miami Dade College
HEATHER VAN SICKEL
Executive Director
National Association of Community College
Entrepreneurship
GOVERNOR BOB WISE
Former Governor of West Virginia
and
President
Alliance for Excellent Education
JOHN ZITZNER
President
Friends of E-Prep Schools
and
Co-Founder
Entrepreneurship Preparatory School
YES GROUP MANAGEMENT TEAM
PETER REILING
Executive Vice President
Leadership and Seminar Programs
and
Executive Director
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
The Aspen Institute
JULIE SILARD KANTOR
Director of YES Group and
National Vice President
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
GLORIA D. SANDIFORD
Public Policy Program Manager
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
Report#1_for_cover.indd 2 10/30/08 1:17:28 PM
FOREWORD
By:
Stephanie Bell-Rose, YES GROUP Chairperson,
Managing Director Goldman, Sachs, and Co., and President Goldman Sachs Foundation
Thomas W. Payzant, YESG Vice-Chairperson is Professor of Practice at Harvard University
Graduate School of Education and Former Superintendent Boston Public Schools
Economic leaders and educational scholars are calling for an increase in initiative, self-regulation,
critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills among young people to meet the needs of the growing
“knowledge economy.” If we want to be competitive in the global economic arena and maintain our
high standard of living, we must rise to the challenge.
As leaders, how can we develop a systemic initiative to keep young people in school, learning aca-
demic and work skills effectively — motivated to be productive and engaged in their communities
and the larger economy, and developing success-oriented attitudes of initiative, intelligent risk-
taking, collaboration, and opportunity recognition? Entrepreneurship education is one answer to this
question, and an important tool to help every child explore and develop his or her academic, leader-
ship, and life skills.
Fifteen years ago, a new, standards-based framework for improving American K-12 education began
to emerge. It was a radical idea, driven by the goal of having all children reach high standards of
learning, which traditionally had been the expectation set only for a select group. Since then, under
the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (the two
most recent versions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act), state, district, and
school efforts to improve public education for all students have intensi?ed. Yet the United States still
lags behind other countries in key knowledge domains and industries. Why aren’t American children
doing better? Why are so many of our young people not even completing high school?
Fifty-three percent of Hispanic students and one in two African-American students fail to graduate
high school according to The American Youth Policy Forum. Students from low-income families
are six times more likely not to ?nish high school than those from high-income families. Dropouts
face severe obstacles to employment, livable wages, and civic participation; many drift into crime
and are incarcerated. This situation means a loss of opportunities for the individuals, substantial cost
to the government and taxpayers, and a tremendous de?cit in productivity for businesses and other
organizations.
Even those students who do graduate may not be well prepared. According to the National Reading
Panel, American companies lose nearly $40 billion a year because of illiteracy. Further, a survey by
the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee and the National Career Develop-
ment Association found that a majority of youths themselves report feeling unprepared in skills,
knowledge, and attitudes when entering the workforce. And, according to the Manhattan Institute,
only about 20 percent of African-American and Hispanic students graduate college-ready.
This skills crisis is becoming more critical because the American economy is shifting. Not only will
the traditional skills of reading, writing, and math be needed to thrive in this economy, but also tech-
Report#1.indd 3 10/29/08 10:21:44 PM
nological savvy and self-direction. With the pace of innovation, many of the jobs our children will
hold don’t even exist yet. More than ever, we need to educate students to be continual learners.
The federal School to Work Opportunities Act and other education policies suggest that students
learn more and perform better when tasks and skills demonstrate relevance to their current and future
lives. Evaluation studies of high-school-level curricula in youth entrepreneurship report that students
increase their occupational aspirations, interest in college, reading, and leadership behavior after
participation. Six months later, 70 percent of the alumni in a recent evaluation cohort were in college,
63 percent had jobs, and one in three ran a small business.
Perhaps most critically, the experience of a sense of ownership in their lives was four times higher for
alumni of youth-entrepreneurship programs than for students who did not take such courses.
“Ownership” is a powerful concept. The American economy and way of life are based on it. We own
our homes and our cars. We strive to “own” our jobs, even if we work for someone else. Thus, we
value both ?nancial ownership and psychological ownership — being in control of resources and
lives that are of our own choosing. High-school-level education in youth entrepreneurship provides
the experience of ownership early in life.
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global marketplace is the
most important responsibility in education today. Providing them with guidance and opportunity at
the most critical junctures along their educational journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneur-
ship education is an important tool to achieving these objectives.
Corporate philanthropy is well positioned to play an essential part in encouraging entrepreneurship
education and small-business ownership. Model educational and skills-building programs are try-
ing to ?ll this growing gap by preparing young people from low-income communities to work with
peers from around the globe while enhancing their business, academic, and life skills. By investing
in entrepreneurship education programs, funders can open an exciting world of possibilities to young
people, and help them develop new con?dence, skills, and ambitions along the way.
While philanthropy can play a part in encouraging entrepreneurship education, Congress, the U.S.
Department of Education, state governors and legislators, and economic-development leaders must
play a leading role. Congress should authorize and fund legislation to support training and certi?-
cation for high school educators to teach entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education should be
universally available, to provide all students with opportunities to explore and ful?ll their potential.
Report#1.indd 4 10/29/08 10:21:44 PM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
If you ask America’s business and entrepreneurial leaders to comment on the quality of our current
and future workforce, you hear a common refrain: Today’s young people are “not ready to work.”
They lack necessary skills, especially in science and math, and, even worse, they often lack the ability
to work in teams, think creatively, or to interact effectively with colleagues or potential customers.
This “disconnect” between what employers want and what our youth bring to the table has major
economic consequences. Most importantly, young people — especially the growing number of high
school dropouts—lose the opportunity to enjoy successful and rewarding careers. At the same time,
American companies suffer from competitiveness disadvantages as they become less able to keep up
in today’s “war for talent.” Meanwhile, overall American economic competitiveness has begun to
suffer as our schools and communities lose the capacity to develop a more creative and entrepreneurial
talent base.
According to many observers, an entrepreneurial mindset — a critical mix of success-oriented atti-
tudes of initiative, intelligent risk-taking, collaboration, and opportunity recognition — is the missing
ingredient. This skills crisis is becoming more critical because the American economy is shifting. Not
only will the traditional skills of reading, writing, and math be needed to thrive in this economy, but
also technological savvy and self-direction. With the pace of innovation, many of the jobs our children
will hold don’t even exist yet. More than ever, we need to educate students to be continual learners.
These multi-pronged challenges will require a host of different solutions that better engage young
people in their education, while also building stronger connections between communities, busi-
nesses, and schools. We believe that expanding the availability of youth Entrepreneurship Education
resources should be a critical part of this solution. These programs have a proven track record of
keeping children in school, and providing them with the skills, knowledge, and tools needed to start
their own ventures, thus creating innovative entrepreneurs, managers, and employees.
To date, youth Entrepreneurship Education programs are in place in some communities, but most
American youths have little or no access to such training. We believe that local, state, and federal
policymakers must remedy this situation by making a major commitment to expanding the availabil-
ity of youth Entrepreneurship Education. The goal of the Aspen Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy
Group is to ensure that each graduate from a high school that serves in a low-income community has
educational opportunities to explore his or her entrepreneurial potential.
While this objective sounds simple, achieving it will require extensive cooperation at all levels of
government. Locally, policymakers should:
• Introduce entrepreneurship training in all schools, with special emphasis on those with large
populations of youth from low-income communities.
• Increase funding to support teacher training, curriculum and professional development, and
to evaluate program design and outcomes.
• Develop strong partnerships between schools, businesses, and other community organizations, so
that business leaders can serve as mentors, coaches, and provide support to local programs.
Report#1.indd 5 10/29/08 10:21:44 PM
At the state level, policymakers should:
• Adopt statewide standards for youth Entrepreneurship Education.
• Create formal Entrepreneurship Education partnerships between primary and secondary schools,
community colleges, and four-year institutions.
At the federal level, policymakers should:
• Revise existing education statutes, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Higher Educa-
tion Act, Carl D. Perkins Act and Workforce Investment Act to include entrepreneurship skills as a
desired competency in educational standards.
• Expand funding for youth entrepreneurship in key programs operated by the Department of Labor,
the Small Business Administration, and other appropriate agencies.
• Create a federal Of?ce of Entrepreneurship Education and provide it with resources to share best
practices in the ?eld and also serve as a nationwide advocate for youth entrepreneurship.
• Consider adding Entrepreneurial Literacy to the President’s Council on Financial Literacy.
Even with these important policy interventions, the future of youth entrepreneurship will depend on
the work of entrepreneurs — from the students themselves, to their teachers, to Entrepreneurship
Education advocates, and to the ?eld’s leading business partners. Preparing today’s students for suc-
cess and leadership in the global marketplace is the most important responsibility in education today.
Providing them with guidance and opportunity at the most critical junctures along their educational
journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship Education is an important tool to achieving
these objectives.
To date, youth Entrepreneurship Education programs are in
place in some communities, but most American youths have
little or no access to such training.
Report#1.indd 6 10/29/08 10:21:45 PM
CONTENTS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: THE BIG IDEA? ................................ 9
THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY ............................................. 11
THE PROBLEM: AMERICA’S DROPOUT CRISIS ....................................... 13
INTEGRAL TO THE SOLUTION: ENGAGING YOUTH
IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ............................................................................... 15
HOW DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION WORK? ........................ 17
MAKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION HAPPEN ........................... 19
WHAT CAN POLICYMAKERS DO? ............................................................... 21
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ............................................................................ 27
EPILOGUE: SOMETHING YOUTH CAN SAY YES! TO ............................... 28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ 31
TOP LEADERS SAYING YES! TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
AMERICA’S SCHOOLS .................................................................................... 32
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE’S
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY GROUP
(YES GROUP) MEMBERS ............................................................................... 38
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 9
We believe that Entrepreneurship Education is a
strong and compelling way of thinking about youth
engagement. If you meet a young entrepreneur,
you can’t help but be inspired. Our question is not
“should we do something?” Instead, it is “how can we
make it happen?” The report concludes with detailed
policy-action steps that can guide you in helping your
community to achieve a powerful yet achievable goal:
to ensure that every child, especially those in low-
income communities, is exposed to entrepreneurship
as part of a basic educational experience
When it comes to entrepreneurs, Americans of all
political stripes agree: we like them, we respect them,
and we need them to help build our economic prosper-
ity. For many of us, the entrepreneur, embodied in
the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Oprah or Bill
Gates, is an exemplary American character. Because
the entrepreneur is so “quintessentially American,”
many of us assume that entrepreneurs just emerge
out of thin air. Yet, history shows us that they don’t.
They need to be nurtured — by their parents, their
teachers, and their communities.
Many American children get this nurturing from par-
ents who operate their own businesses, or from local
schools or other support organizations. Unfortunately,
many young people don’t have these opportunities
because of poverty, underperforming schools, or other
factors outside their control. If we want to engage
the entire spectrum of our youth in the American
economy, we will need to ?nd ways to nurture the en-
trepreneurial spirit across the board. We believe that
an aggressive commitment to youth Entrepreneurship
Education offers the means to achieve this equality.
This Guide makes the case for Entrepreneurship
Education in the following ways: First, it details the
extent of the innovation challenge facing America’s
young people, especially youth from low-income
communities. It then details where and how Entre-
preneurship Education can help engage children and
teach critical skills. Thousands of local experiments
in Entrepreneurship Education are underway around
the globe. These experiences provide a host of useful
insights about what works and what is needed in the
?eld. Finally, the guide offers suggestions for what
you, as a leading policymaker, can do to help prepare
our youth to be economically productive members of
society in the 21st century global economy.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION:
THE BIG IDEA?
JASMINE LAWRENCE
Williamstown High School, Williamstown, New Jersey
Owner, EDEN Body Works
At the age of eleven, Jasmine became determined to
create her own natural hair-care products. After she
had used a commercial hair-relaxer, the chemicals in it
had caused 90% of her hair to fall out. “It was really
devastating at eleven years old, without any hair,” she
recalls. “When it comes to women and their hair, if
their hair isn’t right, then they just can’t go about their
day.” It was at that moment that Jasmine vowed never
to use chemical products again. She then researched
natural hair-care products online, but realized that they
were not “natural” at all. “That’s when I decided to
create my own,” and added: “I wanted to do this for a
living and share it with the world.” With the help of
NFTE (the National Foundation for Teaching Entre-
preneurship www.nfte.com), Jasmine started her own
business, EDEN Body Works.
With NFTE’s support, Jasmine created an all-natural
line of hair-care products, including shampoo, con-
ditioner, hair oil, temple balm, hair milk, and hair
wipes. Today, Jasmine’s products are bringing in
over $100,000 per year. In 2007, Jasmine was an
Entrepreneur of the Year at NFTE’s prestigious an-
nual awards gala, attended by a thousand luminaries
from the spheres of business, philanthropy and educa-
tion, and has been featured on Oprah.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 11
This Guide presents a strategic approach to expand
the role of Entrepreneurship Education in America’s
schools, and will attract attention from federal, state,
and local policy leaders. We believe that Entrepre-
neurship Education is a key part of the solution to
several pressing national policy challenges, including
high school dropout rates, workforce readiness, and
America’s economic competitiveness.
One of the biggest challenges facing the American
economy is to how to grow a more skilled and produc-
tive workforce. With inevitable demographic shifts,
it will not be enough to simply tinker at the margins.
When it comes to building a strong future workforce,
we face real challenges. Consider the following:
• The U.S. presently ranks 17th in the world in
overall high school graduation rates. American
rates have remained largely unchanged since World
War II. Unfortunately, numerous global studies
indicate that future high-paying jobs will require
post-high school and, in most cases, post-college
levels of education.
1
• U.S. students continue to perform poorly on in-
ternational tests on science and math. At present,
American 15 year olds rank 24th in mathematics
and 19th in science, when compared to students
from 29 other developed nations.
2
• In 1960, the U.S. was ranked ?rst in percentage of
high school graduates. Currently, we rank 13th in
the world. South Korea, once ranked 27th, is now
number one.
3
These trends are indications of signi?cant challenges
facing the U.S. education system. The old methods of
public school education worked well in the past, but
today’s economy is radically different. It challenges
us all to build new skills, innovative thinking, and
talents that can no longer be nurtured with outdated
methods. This is not only an issue of social justice
and equity, but lies at the heart of America’s economic
competitiveness. When our children fail, America
fails. Our nation’s future prosperity depends on our
ability to encourage a wide and diverse talent pool with
an entrepreneurial mindset, and providing the skills to
succeed, prosper, and compete in today’s economy.
When it comes to new methods and approaches, we be-
lieve that the sky’s the limit. Despite many challenges,
America remains one of the world’s most innovative
and entrepreneurial societies. But there is no single
silver bullet solution to the problems of preparing
American youth to succeed in the 21st century econo-
my. We need any number of new ideas and models.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY
“PLAYING IT FORWARD!”
By Cesserly Rice
Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy,
Chicago, Illinois
Owner, CR Sports Management
Facing changes can be very challenging for anyone.
This is especially true for young athletes making the dif?-
cult transition from high school to college level. Many very
gifted individuals fall through the cracks and throw away
the opportunity to pursue their dream. Overwhelmed by the
daunting task of balancing academics with athletics, while
maneuvering through the “who you know” network often
associated with college sports, they tend to lose their positive
mental outlook and give up. As an athlete myself, I know that
this situation is all too true.
Often all that is needed to turn a seemingly hopeless situation
into the start of an amazing college career is a push in the
right direction, and that is where I come in. I seem to have
a knack for motivating athletes. So I decided to turn my gift
into a socially positive service that prepares young athletes
for the challenges of the next level. My company, CR Sports
Management, bridges this high school to college gap. We
help our clients balance academics and sports, while main-
taining a healthy lifestyle and a positive mental outlook as
they prepare for their college careers.
I have always dreamed of working in the Sports Management
?eld. Until very recently I assumed that I would have to wait
until I was much older to be able to get my start. Well, with
the help of my Advanced Small Business Ownership teacher,
Mr. Scott Steward, I discovered that there is no reason not to
get started now. Even though I am currently only a senior at
Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, I am also
the owner of CR Sports Management. I charge my customers
a small monthly retainer for my services. I have three clients
with great potential to make it all the way to the NBA and I
plan to be there every step along the way to help make it hap-
pen. After graduation I plan to go to the University of Illinois
at Chicago and major in business and sports management.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 13
millions of American children has tremendous reper-
cussions for them and their families, their communi-
ties, and for our nation as a whole.
The most pernicious effects of the dropout crisis are
those that directly affect the students who have al-
ready dropped out. Over the short term, dropouts suf-
fer disproportionately from a host of social ills. Pick a
social problem, and you’ll ?nd that dropouts are more
likely to be affected. These include:
• Crime and incarceration
• Unemployment and/or low-wage “dead end” jobs
• Teen pregnancy
• Reliance on government bene?ts
• Shorter life spans
• Poor health
• Civic disengagement
These problems soon ripple out into the wider com-
munity. The social ills listed above put tremendous
pressure on individuals and families. They also gener-
ate huge costs for the rest of us as taxpayers. Overall,
researchers estimate that each dropout generates extra
societal costs of approximately $260,000 over the
course of his or her lifetime.
5
These added costs take
the form of funds for crime prevention and govern-
ment bene?t programs, as well as a host of other costs
that we often fail to appreciate. For example, the Al-
liance for Excellent Education estimates that the U.S.
could save $17 billion per year in Medicaid and the
cost of health care for the uninsured if we were able to
graduate all students from high school.
6
Even worse, are the long-term economic consequenc-
es of an individual’s decision to drop out. A high
school degree and post-secondary education are the
basic entry point requirements for a successful career
in today’s economy: most jobs will likely require ad-
ditional education. Students cannot enter into prosper-
America’s education and workforce challenges have
resulted from a complex mix of factors. Globalization
and technology have altered work patterns and altered
the skills needed to build successful work lives. Our
educational institutions have not been able to keep up
with the rapid pace of change, especially as it relates
to technological advancement. Schools, especially
middle and high schools, are struggling to provide
their students with the fundamental tools to succeed
academically and in life.
We believe that America’s dropout crisis is a re?ection
of larger concerns. In many ways, high school drop-
outs are early warning signs of growing problems in
the educational system. They are, in effect, a distilla-
tion of troublesome patterns. By effectively address-
ing the dropout crisis, we will also develop a host of
solutions for other pressing educational challenges.
Until quite recently, we knew little about the extent of
America’s high school dropout phenomenon. Fortu-
nately, a number of leading social researchers , such
as Dr. Ruth Curran Neild, University of Pennsylvania,
and Dr. Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters, of John
Hopkins University along with leading organizations
like America’s Promise, the Alliance for Excellent
Education, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-
tion, are now shining a spotlight on what is being
called “The Silent Epidemic.” The magnitude of the
symptoms are staggering.
4
• Every 29 seconds, another student drops out
of school.
• 7,000 students drop out of school every day; 1.2
million leave school over the course of a year.
• Nearly one-third of public high school students fail
to graduate.
• Nearly half of African-Americans, Native Ameri-
cans, and Hispanics fail to graduate high school.
These discouraging statistics tell only part of the story.
Our failure to provide a strong educational base for
THE PROBLEM:
AMERICA’S DROPOUT CRISIS
Report#1.indd 13 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
14 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
The Causes of the Problem
The dropout crisis is no mystery; we have a good
idea of what causes students to do it. Basically, we
face a needs-resources mismatch. At-risk kids need
more support, but teachers and administrators lack the
resources to provide that essential safety net. Indeed,
the most common cause of dropouts is a failure to
thrive. Students struggle in school, they cannot get
needed supports, so they continue to struggle and fall
further behind. As this chasm between expectations
and reality widens, students are tempted to take the
line of least resistance: dropping out.
This pattern runs counter to what is often portrayed
in the media, where dropouts leave school due to the
temptations of life on the street and other outside fac-
tors. The reality is that dropouts tend to be pushed out
of school, not pulled away.
While a variety of factors have led to the dropout
problem, a few causes tend to dominate. Surveys of
students show that:
7
• 47% claim that their classes were not interesting
• 43% missed too many days and could not catch up
• 42% spent time with people who were not
interested in school
• 38% felt they had too much freedom and not
enough discipline in their lives
• 35% had failing grades
These statistics indicate that the dropout crisis is
not simply the direct result of concentrated poverty.
These structural conditions play a role, but an equally
important factor results from the education system
itself: our schools are not adequately engaging young
people. Four of ?ve of the above factors are related to
school curriculum not reaching the personal interests
of the students. Young people need to see a connec-
tion between what they learn in school and future
success in life. Relevancy is critical.
ous careers without this educational foundation. Over
a lifetime, high school dropouts earn $1 million less
than the average college graduate. In effect, teenag-
ers, many of whom are not yet ready to drive or to
vote, are making a million dollar decision when they
opt to drop out.
This lagging performance and growing inequality are
occurring at a time when the global “war for talent”
is heating up. America’s future competitiveness will
suffer if our educational system sends poorly prepared
workers, managers, and entrepreneurs into the work-
force. Our young people will not be able to compete
with countries such as India and China, which are
becoming major sources of scienti?c and technologi-
cal talent.
Finally, the dropout crisis’s real burden is one of op-
portunities lost. Behind the ?gures are young people
whose full potential will never be realized. They
could have become fully engaged citizens who raised
happy families and enjoyed prosperous careers. They
could also have become our next generation of entre-
preneurial leaders and innovators.
The ongoing debate over STEM (Science, Technol-
ogy, Engineering, and Math) education offers a case
in point. Science advocates have contended that the
U.S. education system is not producing enough quali-
?ed scientists, engineers, and technicians. Washing-
ton has responded with a host of initiatives, such as
the America COMPETES Act, to bolster funding for
STEM education. Yet, it will be dif?cult to nurture
new scientists without expanding the pool of potential
students through outreach to minority students, and,
yes, increased attention to the dropout crisis. Further,
we should not overlook the opportunity to commer-
cialize innovations and integrate entrepreneurship as a
component of STEM.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 15
Finally, we need to build an overall school climate that
fosters rigorous academics, effective relationships in
the community, and relevancy throughout the curricu-
lum. Schools need to place higher expectations on stu-
dents, and they must be held accountable on the most
important measure: preparing students for success in
the working world or post-secondary education.
Entrepreneurship Education is a Relevant
and Engaging Life Skill
Youth Entrepreneurship Education offers one effective
means to address these challenges of engaging stu-
dents, building stronger support networks, and nur-
turing a more rigorous academic environment in our
schools. Entrepreneurship Education instills a fun-
damental life skill. Whether young people ultimately
become entrepreneurs or work for others, they learn to
invest in themselves and know they have options. En-
trepreneurial Education and training prepares people,
especially youth, to be responsible, enterprising indi-
viduals who contribute to economic development and
sustainable communities. The education is not based
solely on a textbook course. Instead, students are
immersed in real-life learning experiences where they
have an opportunity to take risks, manage the results,
and learn from the outcomes.
Entrepreneurship Education is not just about teaching
someone to run a business. It is also about encourag-
ing creative thinking and promoting a strong sense
of self-worth and accountability. The core outcomes
created via Entrepreneurship Education include:
• The ability to recognize opportunities in one’s life.
• The ability to pursue such opportunities by generat-
ing new ideas and marshaling needed resources.
• The ability to create and operate a new venture.
• The ability to think in a creative and critical manner.
Addressing the dropout crisis by engaging youth in
school requires a whole host of solutions. There is no
shortage of good ideas — ranging from speci?c inter-
ventions, such as longer school days, to more com-
prehensive school reform.
8
Three broad approaches
directly address the issues of student disengagement.
First, we need to introduce new curricula and teach-
ing methods that engage students and build a closer
connection between school and work. Some students
thrive through traditional book learning; others need to
see the connection between their schoolwork and the
so-called “real world.” These connections can be built
in numerous ways. For example, career and technical
education programs provide workplace skills that can
be applied in connection with entrepreneurial experi-
ence. Service learning programs engage youth by
combining education with service opportunities, such
as working for neighborhood organizations or environ-
mental groups, to practice social entrepreneurship.
Business leaders understand this connection. For ex-
ample, the Council on Competitiveness has called for
American schools to do more problem-based learning
in order to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
9
Many
of the existing entrepreneurship programs provide
experiences that encourage students to use their own
judgment, creativity, idea generation, goal setting, and
problem solving skills.
Second, we need to build a better support network
for struggling students. Dropouts rarely appear out
of nowhere. Many at-risk students show signs of
potential trouble in sixth grade or even earlier. At-
risk indicators, such as poor attendance, are widely
understood and recognized by educators but lack of
resources means that children fall through the cracks.
If we want to engage them with new educational tools,
we need to keep them in school. Thus, a strong early
warning mechanism, along with the ability to respond
and support at-risk kids, is needed.
INTEGRAL TO THE SOLUTION:
ENGAGING YOUTH IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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16 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
how to “invest” in their own potential. Youth from
low-income communities will learn through entrepre-
neurship to make money doing something they enjoy
while also learning personal ?nance skills and how to
budget and invest.
Decades of experience indicate that these skills cannot
be taught through classroom lectures alone. They are
acquired through experiential learning where youths
are exposed to the risks, ambiguities, and creativity
of building a real-life business. In an effective Entre-
preneurship Education course or experience, young
people don’t just learn the theory behind starting a
business, they live it through a ‘hands-on’ application!
What is Youth Entrepreneurship Education?
Can it be Expanded in America’s Schools?
Youth Entrepreneurship Education is a viable ap-
proach to engaging our students by helping them
develop entrepreneurial skills and experience what it
is like to start a business venture. Formal youth entre-
preneurship curricula and programs have existed for
decades and are building their research base, but the
movement has recently begun to expand both here and
abroad. This momentum is building on the interest
that American youth display for entrepreneurship.
A recent survey in 2007 of American young people
(ages 8-21)
10
found that:
• 40% of young people would like to start a
business someday.
• 63% believe that if they work hard, they can suc-
cessfully start a new company.
• 59% know someone who has started a business.
• 26% agree that starting their own business would
be more desirable than other career opportunities.
Entrepreneurship Education differs from other busi-
ness or economics education programs, and can
complement most ?nancial literacy curricula. These
programs teach youth how the economy works and
how to manage one’s own ?nances. Entrepreneurship
educators can and should provide this economic and
?nancial foundation, and they also provide a much
broader range of skill sets and teach young people
“EMPOWER YOURSELF BY INSPIRING OTHERS”
by Evin Robinson
Science Skills Center High School,
Brooklyn, New York
CEO, InspiRing
My name is Evin Robinson and I am the Chief Executive
Of?cer of InspiRing, which creates and sells right-hand rings
as symbols of female empowerment. I’m a senior at Science
Skills Center High School in Brooklyn.
Growing up in a predominantly female household with a
single mother, I had a front row seat to the struggles women
face. So I took the lessons I was taught from my Entrepre-
neurship class and brought my ideas together to create my
business. InspiRing allows me to give back, and will hopeful-
ly help me accomplish one of my long-term goals — opening
a community center in my neighborhood to teach skills such
as networking and communication, as well as expose kids to
various career choices.
InspiRing’s slogan — “Empower yourself by InspiRing
others” — is about boosting young females’ con?dence and
awareness of empowerment by being role models to others.
Each InspiRing is handcrafted and comes with an inspiration-
al quote to instill positive imaging. We plan to donate part of
our yearly pro?t to Girls Inc., a nonpro?t organization dedi-
cated to inspiring young girls to be strong, smart and bold.
I am very excited about my future, as I know great things are
waiting for me. My advice to anyone trying to start a business
is to follow your dreams and be passionate about what you
do. Don’t let making a pro?t cloud your dreams — follow
what’s true to you.
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 17
Trend Analysis on Entrepreneurship
Over the past decade, community leaders across the
US — and around the world — have embraced entre-
preneurship as an important tool in building wealth
and in building local economies. The concepts of mi-
cro?nance and microenterprise, ?rst pioneered by No-
bel Prize winner Muhammed Yunus and Bangladesh’s
Grameen Bank, are now a core component of interna-
tional development strategies. Closer to home, over
4,000 University’s have built Entrepreneurship pro-
grams (up from two in 1960’s) and nearly every U.S.
state now has an explicit set of policies and programs
to nurture and support local adult entrepreneurs.
13
There’s a good reason for this growing interest. Re-
search shows that new, fast-growing ?rms account
for the majority of innovation and new job creation
in the American economy. In fact, these fast-growing
“gazelle” businesses create roughly two-thirds of new
jobs in our economy.
14
These high-growth entrepreneurs are the source of
great competitive advantage for the American econo-
my. As Carl Schramm, President of the Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation has put it:
For the United States to survive and continue its
economic and political leadership in the world, we
must see entrepreneurship as our central competitive
advantage. Nothing else can give us the necessary
leverage to remain an economic superpower.
15
But entrepreneurship is not just about Apple, Google,
or Starbucks. Entrepreneurship has a profound
bottom-line impact on improving people’s lives. This
effect is especially true for minority entrepreneurs.
America’s minority population is among its most
entrepreneurial. African-Americans, Asians, and
Hispanics all start businesses at historically high rates.
Table A depicts these patterns.
Youth Entrepreneurship Education comes in many
sizes and ?avors. There is no one single right way
to bring it the target audience, just as there is no one
single right way to teach reading, math, or writing.
Hundreds of organizations across the U.S. promote
Entrepreneurship Education at the local level and a
number operate nationally. The ?eld of entrepreneur-
ship education even operates its own consortium, the
Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
(www.entre-ed.org).
These organizations operate in a variety of settings,
from rural Appalachia to distressed urban neighbor-
hoods to American Indian reservations to high-tech-
nology hot spots across the country. Each uses its
own approach but they all agree on certain core princi-
ples.
11
Entrepreneurship Education does not just teach
about how business or the wider economy works; it
teaches a way of thinking and a way of approaching
the world. The late Jeff Timmons of Babson College
summarized the consensus very well when he noted:
Entrepreneurship is the ability to create and build
something from practically nothing. It is initiat-
ing, doing, achieving and building an enterprise or
organization, rather than just watching, analyzing,
or describing one. It is the knack for sensing an
opportunity where others see chaos, contradiction
and confusion. It is the ability to build a “founding
team” to complement your own skills and talents.
It is the know-how to ?nd, marshal and control
resources (often owned by others) and to make sure
you don’t run out of money when you need it most.
Finally, it is the willingness to take calculated risks,
both personal and ?nancial, and then do everything
possible to get the odds in your favor.
12
While we believe that engaging youth is a primary
purpose of Entrepreneurship Education programs,
these efforts also contribute other community ben-
e?ts as well. Among the most important is the role of
entrepreneurship in developing the economies of local
communities and in building wealth for local residents.
HOW DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION WORK?
Report#1.indd 17 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
18 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Table A
2002 Economic Census reports on
Non-employer statistics (1997-2002)
African-American ?rms: Numbers Up 45% Revenues Up 25%
Asian ?rms: Numbers Up 24% Revenues Up 8%
Hispanic ?rms: Numbers Up 31% Revenues Up 19%
All Businesses: Numbers up 10% Revenues Up 22%
Finally, Entrepreneurship education helps students
build more successful careers regardless of whether
they take the “entrepreneurial leap” or become a “in-
trepreneurial worker” in someone else’s business. The
entrepreneurial “mindset” improves the productivity
of all workers so everyone wins. In today’s economy,
successful careers require networking and ?exibility
that can be learned as students experience entrepre-
neurship education. The ability to promote the “brand
called me” is becoming an even more important skill
as the economy is more and more relying on contrac-
tors and consultants to perform the work organizations
need to complete. Students can acquire these types of
fundamental techniques which are critical components
of an effective future worker in the workplaces of the
world through entrepreneurship education. A personal
“locus of control” helps students engage more effec-
tively in their education experiences thus improving
academic performance while in the education system.
Entrepreneur education allows students the opportuni-
ty to develop skills essential for success in the market
places of the 21st Century.
While the overall number of minority entrepreneurs
is growing, these companies face unique challenges.
Many have lower revenues, lower growth rates, more
limited access to outside capital and other resources.
Take the case of ?rms owned by African-Americans,
which are, on average, four times smaller than the
average Caucasian-owned ?rm. African-American
businesses also hire fewer people.
16
These disparities have a number of causes, but major
factors include the limited availability of specialized
training and the absence of a long family history of
business ownership. Because many new minority en-
trepreneurs have grown up without hearing about busi-
ness discussed at the kitchen table, they may be less
prepared for the challenges of a struggling business.
If minority youth don’t learn business at the kitchen
table, they should have the opportunity to learn about
it in school or at their local community center. Entre-
preneurship Education thus serves as a path to upward
mobility in multiple ways, by keeping students in
school to complete their educations, and by providing
the skills and knowledge that will allow them to build
wealth through founding their own businesses.
Report#1.indd 18 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 19
ing, and team building. Effective use of these new
methodologies will require a serious commitment to
professional development.
Effective Entrepreneurship Education programs en-
gage local entrepreneurs as mentors, coaches, speak-
ers and role models. It’s not enough to simply have
teachers teaching a new class; new partnerships will
be required. Partnerships with local business orga-
nizations, such as Chambers of Commerce, Small
Business Development Centers, Entrepreneur’s Orga-
nization (EO) or local civic clubs, such as a Rotary,
are also an integral component of Entrepreneurship
Education. These partnerships bring new ideas to a
school’s budding young entrepreneurs, but they also
have an added bene?t: they build stronger business-
education partnerships across the board. As business
leaders begin to mentor students, they will also be
more likely to support other school programs. These
businesspeople can bring a classroom to life with rel-
evant real-world experiences and stories that teachers,
many of whom lack direct business experience, would
not be able to share.
Finally, school districts and community leaders must
invest in effective and accurate evaluation efforts. It
is important they understand the techniques and tools
that work best in engaging youth and in producing the
next generation of young entrepreneurs. As part of
this effort, communities should also consider creating
an Entrepreneurship Education Innovation Fund that
provides targeted investments to programs, schools,
and teachers who act like entrepreneurs by generating
new innovations in the educational system.
Despite the many bene?ts of youth entrepreneurship
programs, most young people do not have access to
these educational opportunities. The leading pro-
grams, such as those operated by the National Founda-
tion for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Junior
Achievement (JA), serve tens of thousands of students
from low-income communities each year. Yet, they
are only touching a small part of the potential market.
Few communities have embraced Entrepreneurship
Education as an of?cial and integrated part of their
educational systems. In fact, only nine states have
formal legislation that promotes Entrepreneurship
Education at the K-12 level.
17
Because Entrepreneurship Education programs often
fall outside of a school district’s formal curriculum, the
?eld has grown slowly. Successful programs are in
place across the U.S., yet we only have small pockets of
excellence. There is no system in place that offers En-
trepreneurship Education as an option for all students.
If this system were to be introduced, what would it
look like? The ?rst and most important step would
involve state and school district adoption of a formal
Entrepreneurship Education curriculum. This cur-
riculum could be adopted “off the shelf” from existing
‘best practice’ products, or developed in-house.
As the curriculum is introduced into the schools, a
commitment to professional development opportuni-
ties for teachers will also be required. Many teach-
ers will be new to the world of entrepreneurship and
require training in how to support these new courses.
In addition, effective Entrepreneurship Education uses
a host of new teaching techniques, such as distance
education, experiential learning, problem-based learn-
MAKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION HAPPEN
Report#1.indd 19 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Report#1.indd 20 10/29/08 10:21:52 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 21
local visionary is no way to build a sustainable move-
ment that offers opportunities to area students. Some
schools and communities will require a nudge in the
form of incentives or other encouragement to consider
implementing Entrepreneurship Education.
19
These incentives could take many forms. A com-
munity might help defray the cost of teacher train-
ing. Most Entrepreneurship Education organizations
provide extensive training and support for teachers.
While some of these costs are subsidized, teachers
must still ?nd funds to pay for travel and needed sup-
plies. Community foundations and other investors can
help seed new programs and ?ll this gap.
Another form of incentive involves the Entrepreneur-
ship Education curriculum itself. Current Entrepre-
neurship Education providers like NFTE and JA can
provide the needed curricula, and schools will still
need to align these programs with local, state, and fed-
eral standards. In this instance, schools should look
to the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education’s
National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation,
20
which link the principles of Entrepreneur-
ship Education to other educational outcomes. These
content standards have been used across the U.S. and
have also been adopted by the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills.
Within schools, programs can operate in formal class-
rooms (such as business and marketing education)
or as an additional in-school or after-school activity.
For example, in Fannin County, Georgia, the local
Chamber of Commerce partnered with Fannin County
Schools to create Vision Quest, a yearlong program
for 11th grade students who receive entrepreneur-
ship training and are encouraged to start businesses
in the local community. In Prince George’s County,
Maryland, teachers now impart entrepreneurship to
120-plus students annually and have a two-year cur-
riculum for the “entrepreneurship pathway” (connec-
tion from middle school to college to career or busi-
ness ownership).
Effective Entrepreneurship Education programs will
require that local, state, and Federal policymakers em-
brace Entrepreneurship Education as an effective tool
for engaging youth and building the next generation of
world-class entrepreneurs and a stronger more entre-
preneurial workforce in America. Ideally, this effort
should proceed in cooperation with business leaders,
who have the greatest interest in seeing local youth
stay in school and embrace entrepreneurship. Below
are suggestions for leaders at each level .
What Can Local Leaders Do?
At the local level, an ideal youth entrepreneurship
initiative would include:
• All students at all local schools — especially
potential “dropout factories”
18
schools with 40% or
more of the students eligible for free and reduced
meals — have access to entrepreneurship training.
• Available funds to support teacher training, curric-
ulum and professional development, and to evalu-
ate program design and outcomes.
• Strong partnerships between schools, businesses,
and community organizations, so that business
leaders can serve as mentors, coaches, and provide
other support to local programs.
Effective Entrepreneurship Education begins in the
classroom itself, so local action to encourage schools
to offer such training is an essential step. While
nearly everyone agrees that exposing youth to entre-
preneurship is a good idea, it is often dif?cult to move
from that basic consensus to a point where schools
offer a formal Entrepreneurship Education course.
As requirements to teach the core academics become
more stringent, educators have less ?exibility to offer
courses such as entrepreneurship or the creative arts.
To date, Entrepreneurship Education has been imple-
mented only when a visionary leader — sometimes a
teacher, sometimes a school administrator — has made
a personal commitment to make Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation take root in the community. But waiting for a
WHAT CAN POLICYMAKERS DO?
Report#1.indd 21 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
22 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Generation E, from Battle Creek, Michigan, has two
copyrighted curricula that teach entrepreneurial skills
through hands-on, student-based activities. The stu-
dents learn how to unleash their imaginations and de-
velop business ideas. After following the manual from
ideas to business plans, the students operate their own
business/service. The program is available statewide
in Michigan.
ESI — “Entrepreneurship Investigation” from the
University of Nebraska Extension is a collaborative
effort between a Nebraska land-grant university, the
state’s community college system, the State Depart-
ment of Education (K-12) and a former Congress-
man’s ?eld of?ce that resulted in a new, experiential
curriculum directed toward middle-school-age youth.
This program has found that middle school youth re-
spond well to experiential teaching methods. Several
delivery modes have been successfully tested, includ-
ing, clubs, camps, schools and a special event called
“Cyber Fair,” which is held annually at the State Fair.
What Can State Leaders Do?
At the state level, elected of?cials, education leaders,
and the business community should unite in support of
the following objectives:
• Adoption of state standards for youth Entrepre-
neurship Education.
• Creation of formal Entrepreneurship Education part-
nerships between primary and secondary schools,
community colleges, and four-year institutions.
• Creation of a State Advocate or State Advisory
Council for Entrepreneurship Education.
• Creation of a State Entrepreneurship Education
Innovation Fund.
• Creation of Statewide Youth Business Awards
Programs.
Including Entrepreneurship Education in formal
statewide education standards is the ?rst and most
important reform that can occur at the state level. At
present, only nine states include Entrepreneurship Ed-
ucation as a formal part of the K-12 curriculum. This
basic step is an essential component in encouraging
In addition to funding teacher training, many com-
munity organizations operate their own youth entre-
preneurship programs. These projects can be hosted
by a variety of groups, including Chambers of Com-
merce, local YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, Boy
Scouts/Girl Scouts, youth detention facilities or other
community-based organizations. Many localities
operate summer camps that focus on entrepreneurship.
In Iowa, the Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepre-
neurship runs a series of summer camps that target
both elementary and middle school students.
When communities embrace youth entrepreneurship,
they certainly empower youth but also help strengthen
community pride. Gainesville Florida’s Buchholz
High School Academy of Entrepreneurship (http://
www.spiritspotbhs.com/) offers an excellent example
of a comprehensive high-school based program. The
Academy has operated for 14 years, providing a
four-year course of study to more than 200 students
annually. Students manage their own entrepreneur-
ial ventures, and also help operate the Spirit Spot,
a school-based store that sells snacks, supplies, and
school souvenirs. The school is tightly linked to the
surrounding business community. It participates in
both Junior Achievement (www.ja,org) and DECA
(www.deca.org), and also sponsors partnerships with
the local community college and the University of
Florida. In addition, the Academy sponsors a wide
range of community events, such as a Film Festival,
an Auto Show, and local business plan competitions.
The program has received numerous state and national
awards over the past decade.
Cleveland, Ohio, is another hot spot for innovation
in the ?eld of youth Entrepreneurship Education.
Under the auspices of E-City (www.ecitycleveland.
com), Cleveland has recently opened E-Prep (the
Entrepreneurship Preparedness Academy), the city’s
?rst school devoted to the use of Entrepreneurship
Education as a means to prepare kids for college. The
program is now serving 6th – 8th graders, and the
?rst-year results were quite impressive. In one year,
E-Prep students saw a huge rise in average statewide
pro?ciency levels — from 7% in reading and 20%
in basic math, to 75% and 62%, respectively. In June
2009, the school has plans to run a month long youth
BizCamp for all 8th graders.
Report#1.indd 22 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 23
Education helped created NET-Force (http://www.fu-
tureforcenebraska.org/Talent_PP/Entrepreneurship/), a
statewide effort to infuse Entrepreneurship Education
at all levels of the education system. In West Virginia,
an Entrepreneurship Coordinator operates within the
State Department of Education. In this role, the Co-
ordinator provides technical assistance to schools and
teachers, advocates for Entrepreneurship Education
training, and also manages partnerships with business
and economic-development organizations. In Ohio’s
Department of Education, Workforce Development
Of?ce, a new Coordinator for 21st Century Skills has
been charged to establish entrepreneurship across the
K-12 system beginning in the 2008-09 school year.
Create a State Entrepreneurship Education
Innovation Fund
While effective Entrepreneurship Education programs
share common principles, there is no one best way to
engage youth in the process of thinking and acting like
entrepreneurs. Creativity and innovation on the part
of educators and other partners are critical. And states
should consider creating small pools of funding to
help stimulate such innovation. These funds could be
managed by a state advocate or advisory council, or by
a state Department of Education. The fund would pro-
vide small seed grants — to support teacher training or
development of new Entrepreneurship Education mod-
els — that would help advance the ?eld. The fund
could operate as a demonstration grant program or as
an annual competition. At the regional level, the Ap-
palachian Regional Commission operated the Spring-
board Awards in 2002 and 2003, which provided
modest grants ($2,000) to exemplary programs. This
relatively small seed funding helped provide outside
recognition to local programs, as well as encouraged
other Appalachian communities to embrace youth
Entrepreneurship Education training. At the national
level, the Coleman Foundation has sponsored elevator
grant competitions for high-school and college-level
programs at various annual conferences.
Create State Award Programs
State business plan competitions or Youth Entrepre-
neur of the Year awards programs are a high-impact,
low-cost way to get young people excited about en-
trepreneurial careers. Numerous business plan com-
teachers and school administrators to introduce Entre-
preneurship Education into their own classrooms.
Beyond including Entrepreneurship Education in
statewide curricula, a second important step involves
partnerships at different levels in the education sys-
tem. Colleges and universities have aggressively
embraced Entrepreneurship Education in recent years.
In fact, two-thirds of all U.S. colleges and universities
now teach entrepreneurship.
21
Community college
interest is similarly high, with a new National As-
sociation for Community College Entrepreneurship
(NACCE) growing rapidly.
It makes sense for schools to tap into this emerging
expertise. Colleges and universities can help provide
training for teachers, development of new curricula,
and mentorship for students. The Michigan Entre-
preneur Education Network (MEEN)
22
offers one
example of how these partnerships might operate.
Started by the Small Business Association of Michi-
gan, MEEN serves as a clearinghouse for the state’s
Entrepreneurship Education advocates. It also spon-
sors annual training conferences, helps design curri-
cula and training materials, and publishes an inventory
of programs across the state. It links educators at the
university, community-college, and K-12 levels.
Create State Advocate or a State
Advisory Council
Several states have created a State Advocate for Entre-
preneurship Education. This advocacy role is often
based in a single, statewide of?ce, but could also oper-
ate through a broader advisory council that includes
educators, elected of?cials, business representatives,
and other stakeholders. Every state now includes an
informal group that helps build statewide networks
of entrepreneurship programs at all levels and spon-
sors activities tied to National Entrepreneurship Week
(next held from February 21-28, 2009). Global Entre-
preneurship Week (November 2008) and National Mi-
nority Entrepreneurship Week (September 2008) are
other initiatives that encourage the promotion of en-
trepreneurs. Some state governments have gone even
further and created the formal position of a statewide
Entrepreneurship Education advocate. Nebraska and
West Virginia are good examples of this approach. In
Nebraska, advocates in the Nebraska Department of
Report#1.indd 23 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
24 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
the national dialogue on preparing youth with the skills
needed to compete in the 21st Century.
While policy decisions will likely be generated at the
state and local levels, this does not mean that fed-
eral policymakers should be hands-off. There are a
number of critical areas where federal investments
are required to ensure that states and localities can
effectively introduce Entrepreneurship Education in
schools and community organizations. In addition,
federal policymakers need to support efforts that align
national initiatives with ongoing efforts at the state,
regional, and local levels.
Within these broad categories of supporting policy
alignment and investing in education innovations,
several speci?c action items stand out:
No Child Left Behind Act
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the No Child
Left Behind Act, it should consider new standards for
Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial literacy should be
included as an accompaniment to current standards for
reading and math literacy. In addition, a pilot program
to provide entrepreneurship education to a statistically
signi?cant middle- and high-school population would
provide invaluable information to support initial
research on the effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation in reducing drop-out rates, increasing relevance
of core curriculum and promoting ?nancial literacy
and community economic development.
Higher Education Act
New efforts to promote Entrepreneurship Education
can also be generated in the Higher Education Act. A
newly proposed program called Path to Success is es-
pecially promising on this front. This program would
fund community-college-based initiatives that target
at-risk and low-income youth, including ex-offenders,
and place a special emphasis on helping these individ-
uals re-enter the workforce. It is expected that many
of these local programs will emphasize Entrepreneur-
ship Education due to its proven capacity to engage
at-risk youth and provide needed life skills.
Financial Literacy
President Bush has recently appointed a President’s
Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, with the
competitions, such as the NFIB Young Entrepreneur of
the Year awards, exist at the national level, but many
states also sponsor their own efforts. Good examples
include Iowa’s Pappajohn Centers programs, which
also provide small seed grants (up to $400) to help
local leaders to set up their own competitions. Both
West Virginia’s business plans and North Carolina’s
“Hop on the Bus” competition, targeting grades 9-12,
present other excellent models.
Most of these statewide competitions target high school
students or even students at the college level. Some
states have moved to engage students before high
school. The Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase (YES)
for Arkansas is a statewide business plan competition
for students in grades 5-8. West Virginia has sponsored
an annual Lemonade Stand event, where elementary
schools compete to have the most creative, innovative,
and pro?table lemonade stand. The students set up
their stands in the rotunda of the State Capitol.
While many states operate innovative Entrepreneur-
ship Education programs, North Dakota’s Marketplace
for Kids (www.marketplaceforkids.org) may be one
of the best-established. Begun in 1995 in Jamestown,
the Marketplace now operates across the state and
annually serves 16,000 youths in grades 4-6. Students
receive entrepreneurship training and then develop
new business ideas that they present at ten Market-
place Days, held across the state. The North Dakota
Chamber of Commerce is a co-sponsor and sends
a team of businesspeople to each of these events to
coach the students. The Chamber facilitates patents
for the students by having attorneys at each Market-
place Day. The program has been hugely successful,
has strong support from key state leaders, and has re-
ceived funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
What Can Federal Policy Makers Do?
Because most investment for education occurs at the
state and local levels, the federal government assumes
an important advocacy and supporting role to ensure the
expansion of promising best practices nationwide. Fed-
eral agencies and programs focus on investing in best
practices, information sharing and dissemination, and in
providing additional support and resources for commu-
nities or students with special needs. Federal agencies
will likely assume a similar role when it comes to pro-
moting Entrepreneurship Education and can commence
Report#1.indd 24 10/30/08 6:37:56 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 25
important charge of improving federal support for
?nancial literacy education. This is an important
initiative, especially in wake of the current sub-prime
mortgage lending and economic crisis. Entrepreneur-
ial education is an effective way to present critical
?nancial tools to young people in a format that is both
relevant and accessible. Where possible, programs
in economics and Entrepreneurship Education should
also be promoted and supported by the Advisory
Council under the U.S. Treasury Department as young
people need to learn how to invest in themselves,
make money, and learn how to manage their assets. In
many youth entrepreneurship programs, young people
are helping their families with basic needs and shoul-
der great responsibility. One NFTE teacher in Prince
George’s County re?ected that four of her top students
have helped their parents ?nancially with purchasing
their ?rst homes in the past two years . The Advisory
Council and other stakeholders should also commit to
making these resources more readily available to those
in need and work with the Department of Education,
DOL and other State departments on a scalability plan
to expand youth entrepreneurship and ?nancial educa-
tion to all America’s youth.
The best way to communicate to those lacking aware-
ness of ?nancial education resources is to make the re-
sources available and accessible in existing gathering
places in the community — public facilities utilized
by members of the community. These existing places
include, and are not limited to, schools, libraries, pub-
lic recreation facilities, and local government of?ces.
By leveraging the resources of practitioners and other
professionals, awareness and access to resources can
be met.
Workforce Development
Entrepreneurship Education can be and has been
incorporated into ongoing programs managed by the
Department of Labor. In particular, the Of?ce of
Workforce Investment’s (OWI) Division of Youth
Services is an appropriate place for these initiatives.
In 2007 & 2008, leaders of the YES Group have been
meeting with ETA and Whitepapers have been sub-
mitted. This of?ce has a mission of preparing at-risk
youth to become effective job seekers. We believe
that these young people can also become job creators
and equity builders by starting their own ventures.
“I SAID YES! MY OWN BUSINESS”
by Fantashia S. Stevens
My name is Fantashia S. Stevens; I graduated from Jane
Addams Business Careers Center High School. I currently
go to Cuyahoga Community College, in Cleveland, Ohio and
am transferring to Savannah College of Art and Design in
Savannah, Georgia. I am going to college to study Fashion
Design and Business Management. The business I started is
Fizzalae Botanical Blends. I make customized bath and body
products from all-organic materials for people with sensitive
skin and personal hygiene needs, as well as operating a Bed
and Breakfast in Ohio.
I completed the E-CITY program in the spring of 2003 at Al-
exander Hamilton Middle School in Cleveland. I did not place
in my class competition but since then have won 10 awards.
The E CITY program gave me my con?dence and helped me
to pursue a job as Junior Partner of a Ben and Jerry’s Kiosk at
Hopkins International Airport. I was an honoree of an event
that we have here in Cleveland called the Three Guys Event; I
was also honored for entrepreneurship at the Cleveland Ernst
and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards banquet. I’ve
been on television three times and have spoken at the E CITY
Annual breakfast that we have every year. I’ve had several
articles written about me in Crain’s Magazine, and several
other local publications. I’ve been able to meet some of the
top executives in the world. People know who I am now!
While in the program I was preoccupied and kept out of
trouble. I made new friends and learned the value of a dollar
at a young age. My ?rst of?cial job was when I started my
business, they taught me to be persistent. I learned all types
of useful information by the time I graduated from the class
I was able to check stocks, ?le my own taxes, and create a
budget for anything as well as how to write a business plan.
One guy even told me that he was in his thirties before he
found out about the word entrepreneur. It made me feel good
to know something that someone triple my age didn’t know. I
stayed out of trouble while in the program and calmed down
a lot with my hanging on the streets. I got so consumed in
my business that I was living it, my whole life surrounded
around my business. I was able to start young doing what I
love the most.
Entrepreneurship education is good for kids because it’s not
just about running a business it’s also about running your
life. The entrepreneurship side is just a plus. The future
depends on our generation and if we all learned how to run
our own business then we would be able to live in a fully
functional community.
The mere fact that a kid knows about entrepreneurship is a
plus in the job ?eld. Society is split into two sections; those
that work for themselves and those that work for others. In
learning entrepreneurship you learn how to do both so you
can work for yourself and work for others and are ahead of
the curve.
Report#1.indd 25 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
26 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
include funding for Entrepreneurship Education. Any
future WIRED investments, or investments in similar
regional programs, should include explicit support for
Entrepreneurship Education as an approved activity.
The U.S. Department of Labor is also currently fund-
ing several other important efforts. Under the presi-
dent’s High Growth Industries initiative, the agency
is seeking new tools that integrate entrepreneurship
services into the Workforce Investment system. In
addition, Project GATE (Growing America through
Entrepreneurship) is testing new approaches that
provide entrepreneurship training to displaced workers
and others seeking employment assistance.
In addition to future Department of Labor projects or
similar regional investments, youth entrepreneurship
programs may also be able to tap into new funding
sources created in the 2007 Farm Bill. The bill cre-
ated a new Rural Micro Entrepreneur Assistance pro-
gram to fund local and regional rural microenterprise
and Entrepreneurship Education efforts. The program
is funded at $15 million for 2009, and $40 million
annually in subsequent years. Program details are still
being determined, but this effort should include new
supports for rural youth Entrepreneurship Education.
Entrepreneurship Education
Clearinghouse/Advocate
Because entrepreneurship is at the heart of so many
diverse challenges in America, it is universally popu-
lar. But Entrepreneurship Education as a policy is not
explicitly recognized as an essential contributor to
educational change, economic development, work-
force development, juvenile delinquency, anti-poverty,
micro-enterprise, and small business success. Be-
cause entrepreneurship can cut across so many policy
areas and disciplines, it is often dif?cult for com-
munity leaders to identify effective support programs
and strategies. A federal clearinghouse that shares
information on these policies could make an important
contribution in disseminating effective models and
“best practices.”
Recently, the U.S. Small Business Administration cre-
ated its own Of?ce of Entrepreneurship Education to
serve as an advocate for Entrepreneurship Education.
In addition to supporting new policy developments,
this initiative would combine SBA’s current online
To date, the Division of Youth Services has made
important contributions through programs like Youth
Build, the Prisoner Reentry Initiative, and other
related efforts. These worthy initiatives need to be
supplemented with new investments that promote
entrepreneurship as another path for youth from low-
income communities. In fact, OWI should consider
creating a demonstration grant program that tests vari-
ous approaches to providing Entrepreneurship Educa-
tion resources to low-income youth.
Community Reinvestment Act
First enacted in 1977, the Community Reinvestment
Act (CRA) requires that banks and other ?nancial
institutions invest a portion of their holdings in dis-
advantaged communities and businesses. To put it
simply, CRA requires that banks invest where they
do business. Since its enactment, CRA has helped
stimulate billions of dollars of new investment and
new services in distressed communities.
CRA lending and investing have been used for a vari-
ety of purposes. Typical uses might be for the con-
struction of affordable housing, support for ?nancial
planning consulting, or for lending to minority-owned
businesses. At present, CRA regulations do not ex-
plicitly permit the use of CRA credits to support youth
Entrepreneurship Education. This situation should be
remedied so that youth Entrepreneurship Education is
explicitly listed as an approved “community develop-
ment service.” Youth Entrepreneurship Education
clearly meets the spirit and intent of CRA’s support
for “community development services.” By providing
?nancial literacy, business skills, and career develop-
ment, Entrepreneurship Education empowers young
people and helps build stronger communities. This
shift in emphasis can occur via changes in regulation,
or, if needed, via a legislative mandate.
Regional Development
Youth entrepreneurship training is becoming a more
important component of federally backed regional
development initiatives. The Department of Labor’s
WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic
Development) is a case in point. WIRED has invested
more than $325 million in 39 different regional initia-
tives that seek to design and implement innovative eco-
nomic development strategies. A good number of these
Report#1.indd 26 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 27
Global Entrepreneurship Week was begun with sup-
port from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation,
but now includes hundreds of partners from around
the globe. It expands on the vision of National En-
trepreneurship Week by linking U.S.-based efforts
to similar initiatives underway in more than 70 other
countries. During the course of the week, thousands
of young people around the world will engage in
workshops, competitions, and other programs that are
designed to encourage them to embrace invention,
innovation, creativity, and imagination. These cel-
ebrations offer an excellent means to spread the word
about the power of entrepreneurship and to get young
people excited about the possibilities of owning their
own businesses. As we celebrate the contributions of
entrepreneurs in our economy we honor those indi-
viduals who have contributed to making our economy
the job generator it has been. These celebrations also
allow students and parents to see entrepreneurship as a
career option for becoming self suf?cient in the future
market places of the world.
education programs, business and community initia-
tives, and ongoing youth outreach efforts. This Of?ce
could assume the important federal role in improving
the dissemination of information. This is an important
?rst step, but other Federal cabinet-level agencies,
especially the Departments of Education and Treasury,
must also assume more prominent roles as govern-
ment-wide advocates for youth entrepreneurship.
Institutionalize National Entrepreneurship
Week and Global Entrepreneurship Week
Finally, policymakers should continue to support
national and global recognition of National Entrepre-
neurship Week (February 21-28, 2009) and Global
Entrepreneurship Week (November 17-23, 2008).
The vision of the Congressionally-mandated National
Entrepreneurship Week is to expand the visibility of
Entrepreneurship Education everywhere and institu-
tionalize the celebration of American entrepreneurs
and the lifelong learning educational opportunities
that will prepare the business leaders of the future.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
ration, and opportunity recognition. This mindset is
one of the real “secrets” of America’s prosperity as
it helps drives the creativity and innovation of our
workers, our companies, and our entrepreneurs. This
engine of innovation will be the primary driver of
our future economic competitiveness. If we want
America’s young people to be fully prepared to suc-
ceed in the 21st century, nurturing an entrepreneurial
mindset—via widespread use of youth entrepreneur-
ship education programs — must become a core part
of the American educational system.
The unique characteristics of Entrepreneurship Edu-
cation make it ideally suited to help address many
aspects of the crisis facing America’s workforce.
For example, these initiatives can help us address our
growing dropout crisis. Research into the factors that
cause dropouts indicate that many students feel disen-
gaged and bored in school. Entrepreneurship Educa-
tion offers a means to attack this lack of engagement
head on.
Yet aggressive entrepreneurship education can provide
other signi?cant bene?ts as well.
Entrepreneurship Education helps instill an entrepre-
neurial mindset — a critical mix of success-oriented
attitudes of initiative, intelligent risk-taking, collabo-
Report#1.indd 27 10/29/08 10:21:54 PM
28 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
EPILOGUE:
SOMETHING YOUTH CAN SAY YES! TO
By Julie Silard Kantor
Vice President, The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
(NFTE Of?ce of Public Policy) and
Director, The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES Group)
Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University
about high school dropouts (see page 21).
The decision to drop out is a one-million-dollar deci-
sion in lost wages for each child who makes it. Fur-
ther, 90 percent of the fastest-growing employment
categories in America require a college degree — our
kids won’t be able to compete — many more jobs
will have to go overseas. In addition to Balfanz’s
eye-opening research, I encourage you to read John
Bridgeland’s “The Silent Epidemic.”
24
General Colin Powell recently spoke at an event for
America’s Promise that I attended to kick off the
Drop-Out Summits that will be taking place in 50
cities — to bring national awareness to this epidemic.
As General Powell notes, the dropout crisis impacts
our economy and even our national security. We can-
not remain a world superpower if we do not give our
children the resources they need to succeed.
The number one predictor of a child’s future success
is whether he or she will graduate — we can’t afford
to let nearly one-third of our kids fail. Powell con?rms
that just conferring a diploma is not enough. Students
must graduate with the knowledge and skills neces-
sary for success in college, work, and life.
Bridgeland interviewed high school dropouts and
asked them why they dropped out of school:
81% said they would not have if the subjects were
more relevant to real life.
Teaching children how to make it ?nancially (and we
are strong proponents of the growing ?nancial literacy
movement), how to own their futures as economically
productive members of society, is both real life and
relevant. Getting business leaders into classrooms to
share their expertise and optimism is key. Youth en-
trepreneurship engages young people and gives them a
I have gone to so many conferences and brie?ngs over
the last few months, and met with so many fascinat-
ing experts, that my head is spinning with endless data
points and facts on the subject of high-school dropout
rates and America’s competitiveness in the global
marketplace.
I am re?ecting now on why our cause — entrepre-
neurship education for low-income youth — matters
so much, especially considering the current economic
crisis. The stakes are high, since it can actually be
part of the solution to one of our country’s greatest
challenges: how to bring economically at-risk young
people into mainstream society.
Not only is this an important contemporary civil rights
issue, as power and in?uence in this country rests with
those who own (it is worth considering that we teach
our students to be employees but not to be owners),
but it is an issue of America’s future and competitive-
ness. It is important to also point out that entrepre-
neurship is a fundamental life skill. Most employ-
ers these days want to hire a more entrepreneurial
workforce, and a 2006 survey by Junior Achievement
found that 71% of middle and high school students
wanted to be self-employed at some point, up from
64% in 2004. In 2006, the National Center on Edu-
cation and the Economy (NCEE) released a critical
report calling for a major overhaul of the country’s
educational system. A report titled “Tough Choices,
Tough Times,” written by YESG’s Vice Chairman,
Thomas Payzant, highlights the link between educa-
tion and the economy and provides policy recommen-
dations for America’s schools.
Our 1.2 million dropouts costs over $329 billion in
lost wages annually — according to Bob Wise,
23
who
spoke to the YES Group at the Aspen Institute’s Wye
Center, where there was also compelling research
presented by Robert Balfanz of the Center for Social
Report#1.indd 28 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 29
Balfanz maintains that youth entrepreneurship is:
• a reason for kids to come to school
• an avenue for short-term success
• a help in providing a clear pathway to adult success
• a way to develop neighborhood assets
Did you know that, according to the Department of
Labor, the average American will have 8 to 10 jobs by
the age of 38? If I were going to have so many posi-
tions, I’d sure look at myself differently — as less
of an employee and more as a free agent. I’d want to
hone my entrepreneurial and networking skills, and
more — just to survive.
Many years ago, a NFTE graduate and business
owner, Michelle Araujo, summed it up:
My dream is not to die in poverty, but to have
poverty die in me!
We need to fast-track our work so we reach these kids
and not lose another generation of students before we
can teach them to fuel their dreams and have belief in
their own potential. We hope you will join us and say
YES! to education for all of our young people to ex-
plore their entrepreneurial potential, especially those
in low-income communities.
good reason to go to school. The drug war taught kids to
say No to drugs. Starting a legal enterprise is a concept
our young people can say Yes to. Some salient facts:
Research by the Harvard Graduate School of Educa-
tion has found that students, having taken a 50-plus-
hour course from NFTE, show:
• increased interest in attending college and height-
ened career aspirations
• increased feeling of control over their lives
• increased leadership behaviors
Findings from internal evaluation, conducted nation-
ally through an online system called TEAMS, further
indicate that contact with NFTE:
• increases engagement in school
• increases students’ sense of connection with adults
in business and the community
• increases independent reading
• Increases business and entrepreneurial knowledge
Report#1.indd 29 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
30 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 30 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
ENDNOTES
1
Norman Augustine, Is America Falling off the Flat Earth?, (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006), p.19.
2
Titus Galama and James Hosek, US Competitiveness in Science and Technology, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008).
3
Galama and Hosek.
4
To learn more, see John M. Bridgeland, John H. DiIuilio, Jr., and Karen Burke Morison, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of
High School Dropouts, Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises, 2006. Hereafter referred to as The Silent Epidemic. Available at
www.silentepidemic.org
5
Celia E. Rouse, “Labor Market Consequences of an Inadequate Education, “ 2005 Working Paper, citied in Alliance for Excel-
lent Education, “The High Cost of High School Dropouts,” Issue Brief, October 2007.http://www.all4ed.org/?les/HighCost.pdf
6
Alliance for Excellent Education, “Healthier and Wealthier: Decreasing Health Care Costs by Increasing Educational Attain-
ment.” Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006.
7
The Silent Epidemic, p. 3.
8
See, for example, Thomas K. Glennon, Jr., Susan J. Bodilly, Jolene R. Galagher, and Kerri A. Kerr (eds.), Expanding the Reach
of Education Reforms: Perspectives from Leaders in the Scale-Up of Educational Interventions, National Council on Competi-
tiveness, Innovation Initiative Summit, December 2004, Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
9
Council on Competitiveness, Innovate America, National Innovation Initiative and Summit Report, May 2005. Available athttp://www.compete.org/publications/detail/202/innovate-america/
10
“Kauffman Foundation Survey Finds Youth Energetic about Entrepreneurship,” Kauffman Foundation Press Release, Decem-
ber 10, 2007. Available at www.kauffman.org.
11
These principles were developed by the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. See “Criteria for Youth Entrepreneurship
Education” at www.ente-ed.org/criteria.
12
Quoted in Ibid.
13
See, for example, National Governor’s Association, A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,
Washington, DC: NGA, 2004.
14
Council on Competitiveness, Where America Stands: Entrepreneurship, Washington, DC: Council on Competitiveness, 2007.
15
Quoted in ibid
16
Robert Fairlie and Alicia Robb, “Why are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role
of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital,” Journal of Labor Economics, (2007), Vol. 25, no. 2., pp. 289-323.
17
Kyle Zinth, “Entrepreneurial Education Laws in the States,” Washington, DC: Education Commission of the States, February
2007.
18
The term “drop out factory” refers to a high school where less than sixty percent of incoming ninth graders remain in school
into their ?nal senior year. Overall, roughly 2,000 US high schools meet this de?nition. These schools represent fourteen per-
cent of all US high schools, but account for about half of all US high school drop outs. See Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters,
“Locating the Drop Out Crisis,” Center for the Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University, June 2004. Available at:http://www.csos.jhu.edu/tdhs/rsch/Locating_Dropouts.pdf
19
For examples of other local programs, see Appalachian Regional Commission, Appalachian Youth Entrepreneurship Spring-
board Award: 2002 and 2003 Winners, Washington, DC: ARC, 2004.
20
Available athttp://www.entre-ed.org/Standards_Toolkit/
21
Judith Cone,”Teaching Entrepreneurship in Colleges and Universities: How (and Why) a New Academic Field is Being Built,”
Kansas City: Kauffman Foundation, 2008. Available at:http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=716
22
To learn more, visithttp://www.sbam.org/content.php?id=711.
23
President of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
24
John M. Bridgeland, et al., The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. A report issued in association with
Peter D. Hart Research Association for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:. Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises, March 2006.
Report#1.indd 30 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 31
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Aspen Institute provided us with an array of
professional staff members who provided exceptional
guidance throughout this policy initiative. The Aspen
Institute Team: Peter Reiling, Executive Vice President;
Jim Spiegelman; Sogand Sepassi; Steve Johnson; Elliot
Gerson; Gary Huggins; Tarek Rizk; Elliott Gaskins,
and Joanna Herrmann.
We are extremely grateful for our colleagues at The
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship,
whose collective expertise and unrelenting passion for
the cause of entrepreneurship education has provided
the driving force behind this initiative: Steve Mariotti,
Founder; David Nelson, Chief Operating Of?cer; Amy
Rosen, President; Daniel Rabuzzi, Director of Sales;
Jeff Reid; NFTE Greater Washington Executive Direc-
tor; Nicole Rottino, Director of Marketing, and a very
special thanks to Gloria D. Sandiford, Program Man-
ager, for her exceptional behind the scenes contribu-
tions to the YES GROUP and this publication.
Finally, to those who contributed to our success but
were not mentioned above, we extend our sincere
appreciation.
First and foremost, the Youth Entrepreneurship Strat-
egy Group would like to thank its sponsors, E*TRADE
FINANCIAL and The Aspen Institute. If not for the
vision of these steadfast partners, the accomplishments
of YES GROUP would not have been possible. We are
deeply grateful for their unwavering commitment in
the funding and support for this initiative. The YES
GROUP also thanks The Burton D. Morgan Founda-
tion for its generous contribution and engagement.
The YES GROUP is grateful to have had the very
capable Erik Pages, of EntreWorks Consulting, leading
the project with our very talented YES GROUP Direc-
tor and NFTE Vice President of Public Policy, Julie
Silard Kantor. Erik is a consummate professional and
was a joy to work with.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all of our YES
GROUP members for their dedication to our mission,
and particularly those whose extra efforts proved vital
to the quality of this publication — namely: Stepha-
nie Bell-Rose (Chairperson); Thomas Payzant (Vice-
Chair); Cathy Ashmore; Deborah D. Hoover; Bruce
Dunbar; Celie Niehaus; Irv Katz; Marc Spencer; Mi-
chael J. Caslin; Andy Hahn; and Diana Davis Spencer,
as well as the Goldman Sachs team, which included
Lisa Calandra; Anuja Khemka; and Juan Sabater; and
we want to highlight as well from the Consortium for
Entrepreneurship Education, Horace Robertson.
Report#1.indd 31 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
32 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
TOP LEADERS ARE SAYING YES!
TO YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IN AMERICA’S SCHOOLS
WHAT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ARE SAYING…
I realized that I had goals and plans for my future. I realized that I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything
get in the way of my dreams. Entrepreneurship is no longer a hidden talent of mine, but is my reality. Now
I’m on my way to studying business in college.
– Braulio Salas, CEO & President, Virtual Art Gallery, Inc.
I’m a sixteen year-old junior at the Marymount School in New York. I used to associate entrepreneur-
ship with “Wall Street Types,” those men and women in great suits who seemed to be the brains behind the
world’s newest and most innovative products and services. Through my entrepreneurship class in Summer
2007 sponsored by Goldman Sachs at Prep for Prep, I began to grasp a true understanding of what it means
to be an entrepreneur. I was right, initially, to believe that entrepreneurs were the harbingers of skillful
innovation. They are not, however, concentrated only in the Wall Street area but instead are from all over,
and come from various walks of life. The local delis and supermarkets, that chic boutique that has all this
season’s “must-haves”, and even the hot-dog cart on the street are all entrepreneurial enterprises. Sooner
or later, I knew I was going to join that group.
– Gabrielle Green, President, Longevi-Teas™
WHAT GOVERNMENT LEADERS ARE SAYING…
We need to equip today’s aspiring entrepreneurs with every tool possible to succeed. That means making
sure they receive a strong ?nancial education that prepares them for the unique challenges and opportuni-
ties of the 21st century. A solid background in ?nance and business skills will help the next generation to
compete and succeed.
– Sen John Kerry, Chairman
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship training provides at-risk youth an opportunity to learn how to function in the marketplace
and strengthen their community’s economy. High quality entrepreneurship training can help ensure a better
quality of life for the individual entrepreneur and their community as a whole.
- House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller
I
SAID
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Report#1.indd 32 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 33
The most important economic stimulus package our nation can develop is combining quality education
with an entrepreneurial attitude to meet the crisis of over one million high school dropouts a year. We need
to teach our youth to be ‘owners’ of their lives. I Say YES! to youth entrepreneurship education in our na-
tion’s schools.
- Governor Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education, Former Governor, West Virginia
Youth entrepreneurship offers the promise of encouraging rural students to see that their opportunities can
be greater then working in the local mill or mine. The skills provided by these programs might not be used
right away, but the spark is one that can be nurtured for years – and carried back home to start that busi-
ness and provide jobs, opportunity, and hope in their home town.
– Ray Daffner, Appalachian Regional Commission
WHAT EDUCATIONAL LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global marketplace is the most
important responsibility in education today. Providing them [youth] with guidance and opportunity at the
most critical junctures along their educational journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship edu-
cation is an important tool in achieving these goals.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation & Thomas W. Payzant, Professor at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education and Former Superintendent of Boston Public Schools
The economic engine of America is fueled by the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of its people. The most
important thing we can do for our future is to nurture these values in our young people by providing edu-
cational opportunities for them to explore and learn about entrepreneurship. All of us in education should
do what we can to inspire our students, build upon their interests and native curiosity, and engage them in
meaningful learning.
- George R. Boggs, President and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges
NEA applauds Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America’s Schools. Today’s students will work in mul-
tiple jobs over the course of their careers, possibly working for themselves, and this requires entrepreneurial
skills. Not only must students have subject matter knowledge, but also they need 21st century skills to prob-
lem-solve, work with diverse people, and develop sophistication about areas affecting their personal well-
being, such as how to make good choices about their ?nancial security. This can be a very exciting future
for students -- but they must be empowered with knowledge and skills.
– John I. Wilson, Executive Director, National Education Association
To thrive in our new world, our students need strong analytical, communication and interpersonal skills.
They must be more entrepreneurial, willing to take risks and able to tolerate greater ambiguity. These chal-
lenges and opportunities compel us to reexamine our current education practices and banish any assump-
tions that what was good enough for us is good enough for our kids. This implies doing what works and
transforming what doesn’t.
– Gene R. Carter, Executive Director, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Report#1.indd 33 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
34 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
Entrepreneurship provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a successful career.
These students learn lessons that can be applied in other areas of their life, such as leadership, math, writing,
and speaking skills. Youth should be encouraged to take courses that enhance their understanding of business
and ?nancial matters and provide youth with con?dence to follow their dreams in owning their own business.
– Jan Bray, Executive Director, Association for Career and Technology Education
Ideas like entrepreneurship education show that we can engage kids in ways that are relevant to their lives
and teach them the content and skills they need to be successful. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about business,
it’s about problem solving, critical thinking, and tenacity, skills that we want all students to leave school with
regardless of their career path.
– Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Education Sector
Learning how to bring new ideas into the world through entrepreneurship empowers young people to develop
their talents and con?dence while helping their communities. Entrepreneurship education helps connect
youth to their futures by enabling them to see how possibilities can become realities.
– Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor, Stanford University and Education
Policy Advisor to Sen. Barack Obama
I believe that American youth are among the world’s most imaginative populations, constantly inventing and
reinventing themselves and the country’s youth culture, and forming businesses… Entrepreneurship education
requires three things: well-targeted programs in places of greatest need, expansion, and a steady focus on
providing high-quality training. As a nation of innovators, we can do it all.
– Andrew Hahn, Professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
Education and entrepreneurship are two pillars of the America’s free enterprise system. All members of soci-
ety bene?t from a strong economy. A way to bolster the markets of the future is to plant the seed of entrepre-
neurship in the minds of our country’s youth today. Encourage creativity, innovation, risk-taking and, most of
all, encourage our youth to pursue their dreams.
– Michael T. Victor, President, Lake Erie College
WHAT BUSINESS LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Without role models and examples of successful business people in their own communities, our youth often
see the American Dream as either ‘hype’ or a pipe dream. Our young people need to know they have viable
place in our market economy. NFTE is part of the solution to bring entrepreneurship to the young people
who need it most. It’s a leveraged organization that will have a great ROI for our city and nation.
- Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman, AOL, LLC; Owner Washington Capitals
Every child needs hope and opportunity. Hope and opportunity are driven by education. If a child does not
have opportunity in his or her education hope and opportunity dissolves.You get unrest and despair and
violence. If you train more entrepreneurs they create more jobs and opportunities. We need to multiply that.
The better job we do the safer the world will be.
– Craig Barrett, Chairman Intel
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 35
As a relatively young company, E*TRADE believes in the power of entrepreneurship. We’ve partnered with
The Aspen Institute, through its YES Group, to accelerate the pace of change in public education by sup-
porting, connecting, and sustaining education entrepreneurs and innovators. We are pleased to be part of
an initiative that is convening entrepreneurial leaders in public education to create a common agenda for
broad-based systemic change in the ?eld. We believe a core component of that change element is ?nancial
literacy and teaching entrepreneurship to young people from all communities, including lower-income com-
munities. We understand the time is now to teach youth the lessons of our past and prepare them for changes
in our future.
– Celie Niehaus, Senior Vice President & Chief Compliance Of?cer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL
WHAT PHILANTHROPIC LEADERS ARE SAYING…
Entrepreneurship education inspires young people to do all the right things—understand the relevance of
a good education, gain ?nancial literacy, plan for ?nancial independence, explore their talents, and most
importantly, stay in school and develop pathways to college. All students, no matter where they are raised,
deserve this chance for opportunity and growth. It has never been more important to America’s economic
system than it is today for young people to be fully prepared to navigate successfully the vicissitudes of the
world of work.
- Deborah D. Hoover, President, The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Hudson, Ohio
By any calculation, the steadily escalating impact of the dropout crisis requires immediate countermeasures
and new ways of thinking about high-school education…America cannot expect to compete in the global
economy when 30 to 50 percent of our students do not graduate. Increasing the high school graduation rate
by just 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year... Policymakers
need to put entrepreneurship education at the forefront of their agendas.
– Diana Davis Spencer, President, Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
By investing in entrepreneurship education programs, funders can open an exciting world of possibilities to
young people, and help them develop new con?dence, skills, and ambitions along the way.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation
Youth the world over are increasingly expressing their desire to learn about and engage in entrepreneurship.
Opportunities to encourage children and youth to launch businesses, even while still young, are proliferating
but more must be done. Young people in large numbers report that they want to play a signi?cant role in elimi-
nating poverty, improving their communities, and creating the future through innovation, imagination, and
opportunity recognition. This is a generation that is excited about “making a job” and not just ‘taking a job.’
-Carl J. Schramm, President and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
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36 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
At a time when America’s leadership in the global economy is being challenged by a host of nations on the
rise, we must give all young people the opportunities and encouragement they need in order to unleash their
full potential. Aspen Institute’s Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group will expand entrepreneurship educa-
tion to schools across the country—helping millions of students from all backgrounds to see themselves for
the ?rst time as the future business leaders and innovators our economy and society need.
– Mario Morino, Chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners
WHAT COMMUNITY LEADERS AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
ARE SAYING…
Research indicates that greater connection with ‘real world’ activities and applications keeps kids engaged
and in school. To the extent that we want to crack the code of the drop-out problem in the United States,
entrepreneurship education is an essential part of the combination.
– Charles Hiteshew, COO, America’s Promise
At its most basic, educating youth about entrepreneurship provides them with ?nancial and business skills
they can use in every facet of their lives. More importantly, it gives them a path to follow for turning their
ideas into thriving businesses, along with the inspiration and empowerment to do so. To stimulate entrepre-
neurial activity and develop the business owners and civic leaders of the future, there’s no better investment
than education.
– Ray Leach, CEO, JumpStart Inc.
Too many young people just give up on their education when told, “ If you don’t go to college you won’t
amount to anything.” Entrepreneurship education provides the motivation necessary for these high school
and middle school students to see themselves as owners, even millionaires, and aspire to make it happen
with pursuit of education. Even elementary school isn’t too early to start acquiring the knowledge and
experience necessary to create an entrepreneurial-based, success-driven mindset. We need to all remember,
“The Entrepreneurs of tomorrow are in our schools today!”
– Cathy Ashmore, Executive Director, Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
I support the work of the Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group to place entrepreneurship education in
every school in America, because we must make education relevant to our youth. I grew up in South Central
Los Angeles and Compton, California, and I have seen ?rsthand the almost natural entrepreneurial spirits
of young people there. I was one of them, starting my ?rst business at age 10. I am an entrepreneur today
because of that early experience. I believe that our kids are dropping out of high school at record rates be-
cause they don’t believe that education is relevant to their futures. How to make education relevant to their
futures? Show kids how to create wealth, legally. That’s ?nancial literacy, free enterprise and capitalism,
silver rights, and entrepreneurship.
– John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Of?cer Operation HOPE, Inc.
Vice Chairman, U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy Washington, DC
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Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 37
During 2008 we had the greatest number of inquiries concerning our Entrepreneurship programs from
high school students in the U.S. than in any of the previous eight years. Young people today are starting
and operating real businesses in numbers never considered possible. We must do all we can to support and
encourage these Young Entrepreneurs.
– Hank Kopcial, Executive Director, NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation
Having professionals equipped with entrepreneurial abilities and the desire to be creative and innovative in
the marketplace is critical for our economy to thrive. The States’ Career Clusters Initiative has speci?cally
identi?ed the relevance of entrepreneurship in the context of the Business Management and Administration
Cluster but we recognize the value of these skills across all career clusters.
At both the high school and post secondary levels students are enrolling in career technical education
classes and seeing that these classes provide relevance and focus to their education. I am pleased that the
SAY YES! campaign has identi?ed how exposure to entrepreneurship will help students stay engaged in their
educational pursuits.
– Kimberly A. Green, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical
Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)
I know a secret which, if fully understood by our government, business, and
community leaders, could have enormous positive implications for the future of
our society.
Simply put, the secret is this: Children born into poverty develop special gifts
that prepare them for business formation and wealth creation. They are mentally
strong, resilient, and full of chutzpah. They are skeptical of hierarchies and the
status quo. They are long-suffering in the face of adversity. They are comfortable
with risk and uncertainty. They know how to deal with stress and con?ict. These
are the attitudes and abilities that make them ideally suited for breaking out of
the cycle of dependency that so often comes with poverty, ideally suited for get-
ting ahead in the marketplace.
In short, youth from low-income communities have “street smarts,” or what we
at NFTE call “business smarts.” Precisely because of their background — that
is, because of their experience surviving in a challenging world — they are able
to perceive and pursue short-lived opportunities that others, more content with
their lot in life, can easily miss.
— Steve Mariotti, Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. (NFTE)
Report#1.indd 37 10/30/08 1:14:45 PM
38 Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America
STEPHANIE BELL-ROSE
(Chairperson)
Managing Director
Goldman, Sachs, and Co.
and
President
Goldman Sachs Foundation
THOMAS PAYZANT
(Vice Chairperson)
Professor of Practice
Harvard University Graduate School of Education
and
Former Superintendent
Boston Public Schools
CATHY ASHMORE
Executive Director
Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education
TIM BRADY
Chief Executive Of?cer
QuestBridge
MAYNARD BROWN
Lead Faculty member
Business Management and Entrepreneurship Academy
Crenshaw High School, LA
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY GROUP
WHO WE ARE:
The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES GROUP) is a collaborative initiative of the Aspen Institute in partner-
ship with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and E*TRADE FINANCIAL. We convene
prominent leaders from the ?elds of education, entrepreneurship and business, public policy, the media, and philanthropy
to explore the promise of, and obstacles to, implementing youth entrepreneurship education in low-income communities
nationwide. Our 35 members represent thousands of teachers and hundreds of thousands of youths throughout the U.S.
and abroad:
Goldman Sachs Foundation • Harvard School of Education • Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education • QuestBridge
• Crenshaw High School, LA • Communities In Schools • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development •
Babson College • Miami-Dade County Public Schools • DECA Inc., • OppenheimerFunds, Inc. • KIPP: Knowledge is
Power Program • Brandeis University • The Coleman Foundation • America’s Promise • The Alliance for Youth • The
Burton D. Morgan Foundation • W.K. Kellogg Foundation • National Human Services Assembly • JA Worldwide •
National Governors Association • The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship • E*TRADE FINANCIAL
• Corporation for Enterprise Development • VSP Capital • Education Sector and Eduwonk.com • National Education
Association • Kathryn W. Davis Foundation • Juma Ventures, Inc. • Philadelphia University • Miami Dade College •
Alliance for Excellent Education • E-Prep • National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship
Produced from the ?rst convening was the YES Group conference report, Advancing Entrepreneurship Education:
www.aspeninstitute.org/yesg.
YES GROUP MEMBERS DANIEL CARDINALI
President
Communities in Schools
GENE CARTER
Executive Director
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
MICHAEL J. CASLIN, III
Babson College
RUDOLPH F. CREW
Superintendent
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
EDWARD L. DAVIS
Executive Director
DECA Inc.
BRUCE C. DUNBAR
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Sr. Vice President
and
Director of Corporate Communications
MICHAEL FEINBERG
Co-Founder
KIPP: Knowledge is Power Program
Report#1.indd 38 10/29/08 10:21:55 PM
Youth Entrepreneurship Education in America 39
Copyright ©2008 by The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute
One Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20036-1133
Published in the United States of America
in 2008 by the Aspen Institute
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN: 0-89843-497-1
Pub: 08/016
ANDREW B. HAHN
Director
The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
and
Professor
The Heller School
Brandeis University
MICHAEL W. HENNESSY
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The Coleman Foundation
CHARLES HITESHEW
Chief Operating Of?cer
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth
DEBORAH D. HOOVER
President
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation
VALORIE J. JOHNSON
Program Director
W.K Kellogg Foundation
IRV KATZ
President
and
Chief Executive Of?cer
The National Human Services Assembly
JACK E. KOSAKOWSKI
Executive Vice President
and
Chief Operating Of?cer
JA Worldwide
DANE LINN
Director
Education Division
National Governors Association
STEVE J. MARIOTTI
Founder
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
CELIE NIEHAUS
Senior Vice President
E*TRADE FINANCIAL
KIM PATE
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
CFED
JOANNA REES
Founder
VSP Capital
ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM
Co-Founder
and
Co-Director, Education Sector
Editor, Eduwonk.com
CHARLES ROUSSEL
SHEILA SIMMONS
Director
National Education Association
DIANA DAVIS SPENCER
President
Kathryn W. Davis Foundation
MARC SPENCER
Chief Executive Of?cer
Juma Ventures
STEPHEN SPINELLI, JR.
President
Philadelphia University
H. LEIGH TONEY
Executive Director
Entrepreneurial Education Center
Miami Dade College
HEATHER VAN SICKEL
Executive Director
National Association of Community College
Entrepreneurship
GOVERNOR BOB WISE
Former Governor of West Virginia
and
President
Alliance for Excellent Education
JOHN ZITZNER
President
Friends of E-Prep Schools
and
Co-Founder
Entrepreneurship Preparatory School
YES GROUP MANAGEMENT TEAM
PETER REILING
Executive Vice President
Leadership and Seminar Programs
and
Executive Director
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
The Aspen Institute
JULIE SILARD KANTOR
Director of YES Group and
National Vice President
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
GLORIA D. SANDIFORD
Public Policy Program Manager
The National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
Report#1_for_cover.indd 2 10/30/08 1:17:28 PM
We need to equip today’s aspiring entrepreneurs with every tool possible to succeed.
That means making sure they receive a strong ?nancial education that prepares them
for the unique challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. A solid background in
?nance and business skills will help the next generation to compete and succeed.
– Sen John Kerry, Chairman, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship training provides at-risk youth an opportunity to learn how to function
in the marketplace and strengthen their community’s economy. High quality entrepre-
neurship training can help ensure a better quality of life for the individual entrepreneur
and their community as a whole.
– House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller
My dream is not to die in poverty, but to have poverty die in me.
– Michelle Araujo, President, A’La Mode Fashions.
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the new global
marketplace is the most important responsibility in education today. Providing them
[youth] with guidance and opportunity at the most critical junctures along their educa-
tional journey can have a profound impact. Entrepreneurship education is an impor-
tant tool in achieving these goals.
– Stephanie Bell- Rose founding president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation &
Thomas W. Payzant, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and
Former Superintendent of Boston Public Schools
Youth the world over are increasingly expressing their desire to learn about and engage
in entrepreneurship. Opportunities to encourage children and youth to launch busi-
nesses, even while still young, are proliferating but more must be done. Young people
in large numbers report that they want to play a signi?cant role in eliminating poverty,
improving their communities, and creating the future through innovation, imagination,
and opportunity recognition. This is a generation that is excited about “making a job”
and not just ‘taking a job.’
– Carl J. Schramm, President and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Research indicates that greater connection with ‘real world’ activities and applications
keeps kids engaged and in school. To the extent that we want to crack the code of the
drop-out problem in the United States, entrepreneurship education is an essential part
of the combination.
– Charles Hiteshew, COO, America’s Promise
The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group (YES Group)
c/o The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
1990 M Street, Suite 740 NW Washington DC 20036
T: 202-215-6383 or 212-232-3333 ext 331 • F: 212-232-2244
Email: [email protected]
www.aspeninstitute.org/yesg
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