WABASH, Ind. – The Wabash City Schools school board heard a presentation about the prospects of encompassing a promising business class program during Tuesday night’s meeting at the L.H. Carpenter Center.
Uncharted Learning’s Incubatoredu is a program geared towards helping students incorporate a business-centric base into their regular basic curriculum.
Community stewards like InGuard’s Parker Beauchamp and Grow Wabash County’s Keith Gillenwater spoke favorably of the program during the meeting, and offered to lend their resources to help the program get off the ground locally.
“We know that the number one program for undergrads is business administration, and unfortunately Wabash High School has not had a business department for about seven years now,” Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan said. “It’s been something that once we built up our cash reserves, we wanted to re-implement or revive a business curriculum. We’ve been looking for that right partner to help with that.”
Uncharted Learning’s Margarita Geleske gave the board a presentation on the ins and outs of the program, which is likely to include students working in groups to create ideas for businesses, and in many cases, starting companies. There are also opportunities to implement the program at the elementary and middle school levels.
“As you heard tonight through Keith Gillenwater and Parker Beauchamp, entrepreneurship is a business engine that local economic development organizations are using to drive local talent production, local business production,” Callahan said. “So, after evaluating several programs, we just felt that this is the best fit for Wabash City, with their staff support, their curriculum, and networking.”
Callahan didn’t get much feedback from the board initially, but feels wholeheartedly that they support the initiative.
“I think (board member Tiffany) King said it well,” Callahan said. “She stated that ‘we’re living our mission.’ I think this is a relevant curriculum. I think it’s a rigorous curriculum. I think it’ll help build relationships in the community as we look to get mentors and coaches from local businesses to help show our kids that they can be business developers and creators and owners as well.”
The startup cost for the program is right around $30,000, Callahan said, with ongoing licensing, staff development and access to curriculum costs of about $5,000 annually.
“I think there’s some local and state dollars to help cover that, as well as some federal dollars,” Callahan said. “… I feel like those supports will be important to our faculty who will be teaching the courses.”
The school board will eventually have to approve the funding, but implementing the programs will start right away at the guidance level.
“We have some resources we want to get with our guidance department, and right now is the perfect timing because the kids are starting to pick out classes for the 2018-2019 school year,” Callahan said. “So, we just create the demand, and as long as we have the demand from the student body, I see this moving forward.”