How Aspen Academy Nurtures America's Future Entrepreneurs
The Aspen Academy is an independent school in Greenwood Village, Colorado, that not only provides an acclaimed academic education, but also offers the first integrated leadership and entrepreneurial development program for elementary school students in the United States. From pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, the Academy has a number of programs and initiatives designed to instill these skills in children and prepare them for a thriving career.
Importance of Entrepreneurship at School
The primary purpose of K-12 education is to provide children with the foundational knowledge and skills that will allow them to get good jobs and achieve success in their careers. Traditionally, this primarily meant a sole focus on academics: students are encouraged to study hard, earn high grades, and gain admission into top colleges. While academics are of course essential, the major flaw in this educational approach is that it does not always allow children to cultivate creativity and gain other practical skills they need to succeed in business.
Young people with an entrepreneurial spirit, for example, are often let down by our school systems as business success does not always correlate to success in the traditional school subjects—at least as they are typically taught. Various studies have shown that interactive programs that encourage entrepreneurship not only helps students acquire valuable skills directly related to business acumen, but also vital life skills, such as innovation, creativity, teamwork, independent thinking, resilience, and the ability to work under pressure.
Meanwhile, financial literacy and a healthy relationship with money is also essential in life—and this too has largely been ignored by traditional school curricula. The Aspen Academy is working to change this paradigm for its students.
Aspen Academy Leadership & Entrepreneurship Programs
The Aspen Academy provides a number of innovative programs to its students to encourage entrepreneurism, enhance their leadership abilities, and build character.
Aspen Entrepreneurial Institute: A first-of-its-kind program, the AEI was created to help students develop crucial skills in personal financial literacy, business financial literacy, money management, and entrepreneurship. In this program, students learn the principles of personal money management, budgeting, and managing accounts; how to make informed purchasing decisions and avoid fraud; understand the impact of credit and debt; and how to identify needs in society and ways to contribute.
Students will also gain familiarity with the stock market through simulations. These activities not only offer young children insight into stocks and trading, but also help them develop skills that are applicable to mathematics and economics. Other elements to the AEI program include "Aspenomics," a mini economy for the eighth grade business cohort. Students submit employment applications and go to interviews, get jobs, receive paychecks, and budget their earnings. There's also a Shark Tank-style pitch competition where eighth graders present their best business ideas.
Aspen Youth Leadership Institute: Holding a firm belief that leadership starts with the self, the Aspen Academy has launched the AYLI program to promote self-management, self-sufficiency, self-discipline, and self-efficacy. Students attend daily classes that hone their emotional and social intelligence and prepare them for community and civic leadership roles. They focus specifically on improving their personal effectiveness, intra- and interpersonal awareness, character, and leadership skills.
Bears Student Enterprise: Hands-on experience with owning and operating a real small business is available in the form of the BSE. In this program, eighth grade students have responsibility for several business divisions: Bear’s Café and Coffee Cart, Bear’s Store, Bear’s Broadcast and Media Publications, Bear’s Honey, Bear’s Bank and Microloan Center, and Bear’s Executive Team. The students in the last group make up the country's youngest board of directors.
These enterprises offer students the chance to experiment with all facets of running a real business, including ordering and managing inventory, developing marketing strategies, preparing financial statements, and presenting annual reports to the Board of Trustees.
Student Civic Organization: Modeled on the United States federal government, the SCO was created to inspire civic and community leadership. It sees sixth and seventh grade students campaign to earn Executive Cabinet positions, and includes two Senate positions for each grade from third to seventh. Elected candidates take an Oath of Office in front of the community. Far from being a ceremonial exercise, elected students engage in a range of community projects and work alongside Parent Civic Leaders to lead initiatives in the school and wider community.
Mentor/Mentee Programs: Mentorship programs have proven to be of enormous benefits for budding entrepreneurs seeking guidance and advice in the business world. Based on this fact, the Aspen Academy offers mentorship for every student. Students in grades four through eight mentor younger students from pre-kindergarten through third grade. Eighth graders are mentored by members of the Aspen community, be it parents, staff, or alumni.
Aspen Morning Program: Students stage a variety show called "AMP'd" for the entire Aspen community every two weeks. They write, produce, and perform all the material. Indeed, every facet of the show is overseen by Aspen Academy students: from running Bear’s Café, where the audience enjoys refreshments before the show, to operating the sound and lighting equipment, to performing the show itself. The AMP’d shows have proven to be an effective way to regularly involve the wider Aspen community in the life of the school.
In Conclusion
Aspen Academy states its values as “Be Kind. Do Good. Work Hard. Make the World Better.” It is evident that these values are at the heart of the Academy’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership programs, which give students the real-world skills and practical lessons that will allow them to make valuable contributions to their communities and the world.
