The San Marcos High School Entrepreneurship Academy is a dynamic three year program that enhances the core curriculum through the personalized study of business, marketing, economics, and finance. The Academy will provide students with the knowledge, skills and experience to springboard their own entrepreneurial visions into action through rigorous coursework, relevant experience in local business community partnerships and student run business ventures. Upon completion of the Academy, students will have the foundation to effectively create their own business and/or successfully pursue a business related college degree.
The Entrepreneurship Academy will create an entirely new and innovative curriculum that will equip the next generation of civic and business leaders with the tools to successfully develop their own business ideas. Starting with the sophomore year of high school, students will be engaged in a prescribed three-year course of study in entrepreneurship that expands their ability to spot opportunity, assess risks involved, and understand how to effectively start and operate a small business. Students will receive college credit for their work during high school through partnerships with local businesses. The Academy will support the already thriving service learning project, kids Helping Kids (KHK), by developing business and entrepreneurial skills in the classroom that will be applied during the fall and winter of senior year. Additionally, in the spring of the senior year, the Academy students will design their own business plans to participate in the annual Scheinfeld Center New Venture Challenge (for high school students) at Santa Barbara City College and start their own new ventures. KHK and the New Venture Challenge are the capstone projects of the Academy.
The Academy will represent the demographic makeup of the school. The Academy will work with ELL and AVID counselors to identify underrepresented students for the Academy. In addition, data queries of high achieving Latino students will be run, and the Academy Director will have one-on-one meetings with these students to encourage their participation in the academy.