Laker Launch Takes Off at MLHS!
Mountain Lakes Public School District is excited about partnering with local community members and neighboring businesses in designing LAKER LAUNCH! Laker Launch is a planned four-year entrepreneurial and business program that will empower our students in becoming future leaders and creative problem solvers. As part of this program, students will analyze case studies, run the Entrepreneur Club’s burgeoning e-commerce platforms, and design and launch their own student businesses!
How the Laker Launch Program Works
The MLHS program will provide authentic and problem-based learning opportunities that will empower students to employ entrepreneurial thinking. Regardless of what path students will forge in the future, they will graduate ready to shape the future through critical thinking, leadership and enterprise.
Frank Sanchez, Director of Curriculum at MLHS, states: “We already started down this exciting journey with our first course, semester length Entrepreneurship 1 — Introduction to Entrepreneurship, for 9th and 10th graders. Although Introduction to Entrepreneurship is a semester-long course that begins the program, it is more than just an introductory class. Rather, it is helping our students foster an entrepreneurial mindset to recognize the intersections among various disciplines and topics including technology and design. This mindset directly correlates with our district’s current Long Range Education Plan in which we strive to prepare our students to be innovative and resilient in today’s changing times.”
In class, students analyze businesses and research successes and failures by examining case studies in each of the nine units: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure. Students will then apply their learning as they cross-train in each of those departments with the Entrepreneur Club’s e-commerce business.
Experiencing Successful Business Models
This year MLHS entrepreneur students visited AeroFarms, (aerofarms.com) the largest indoor vertical farm in North America. Students toured the AeroFarms facilities, saw the many innovations and met with members of AeroFarms to discuss start-ups and business development plans and strategies.
MLHS entrepreneur students visiting AeroFarms in Newark, NJ.
Future of the Program
Next year students can take Entrepreneurship 2: Selling Yourself and Your Business. This yearlong course focuses on marketing and business communications. This course is designed to help students sharpen their writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills. Every student will have his or her elevator pitch ready to go! In the second half of the course, students will explore core concepts and tools to help them better understand and excel in marketing. Key topics include Market Research and its importance to strategy, brand strategy, pricing, integrated marketing communication, social media strategy, and more. Students will then head the marketing and customer relationship departments for the Entrepreneur Club’s e-commerce business.
Entrepreneurship 3 & 4 will be added to the Program of Studies in the next two years. These courses will focus on finance, leadership, and business iteration in which students are expected to launch their own businesses. The proposed E-3 honors Course, Finance & New Venture Creation, will have students investigate incubator start-ups to learn finances and demystify venture capitalism. Students will focus on developing their own business plan while planning a product development design. We hope to take an optional trip over the summer to an international business hub to learn more about production.
With the proposed E-4 honors course, Learn & Launch, students will research management styles, examine legal risks, and finally launch their New Venture as a capstone project for our program. We plan on making room in our trophy cases for our first Mountain Lakes patent!
Interested in Helping Laker Launch in the Future?
One of the keys to Laker Launch being successful in the future is to leverage local community members, local businesses, and hopefully, ML Alumni. Laker Launch and the Entrepreneur Program are looking for mentors or speakers as well as businesses for the students to visit. If you would like to get involved with the MLHS Entrepreneur Program or know someone who would be a mentor or speaker, please contact Frank Sanchez at fsanchez@mlschools.org.
Laker Launch Takes Off at MLHS!
Mountain Lakes Public School District is excited about partnering with local community members and neighboring businesses in designing LAKER LAUNCH! Laker Launch is a planned four-year entrepreneurial and business program that will empower our students in becoming future leaders and creative problem solvers. As part of this program, students will analyze case studies, run the Entrepreneur Club’s burgeoning e-commerce platforms, and design and launch their own student businesses!
How the Laker Launch Program Works
The MLHS program will provide authentic and problem-based learning opportunities that will empower students to employ entrepreneurial thinking. Regardless of what path students will forge in the future, they will graduate ready to shape the future through critical thinking, leadership and enterprise.
Frank Sanchez, Director of Curriculum at MLHS, states: “We already started down this exciting journey with our first course, semester length Entrepreneurship 1 — Introduction to Entrepreneurship, for 9th and 10th graders. Although Introduction to Entrepreneurship is a semester-long course that begins the program, it is more than just an introductory class. Rather, it is helping our students foster an entrepreneurial mindset to recognize the intersections among various disciplines and topics including technology and design. This mindset directly correlates with our district’s current Long Range Education Plan in which we strive to prepare our students to be innovative and resilient in today’s changing times.”
In class, students analyze businesses and research successes and failures by examining case studies in each of the nine units: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure. Students will then apply their learning as they cross-train in each of those departments with the Entrepreneur Club’s e-commerce business.
Experiencing Successful Business Models
This year MLHS entrepreneur students visited AeroFarms, (aerofarms.com) the largest indoor vertical farm in North America. Students toured the AeroFarms facilities, saw the many innovations and met with members of AeroFarms to discuss start-ups and business development plans and strategies.
MLHS entrepreneur students visiting AeroFarms in Newark, NJ.
Future of the Program
Next year students can take Entrepreneurship 2: Selling Yourself and Your Business. This yearlong course focuses on marketing and business communications. This course is designed to help students sharpen their writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills. Every student will have his or her elevator pitch ready to go! In the second half of the course, students will explore core concepts and tools to help them better understand and excel in marketing. Key topics include Market Research and its importance to strategy, brand strategy, pricing, integrated marketing communication, social media strategy, and more. Students will then head the marketing and customer relationship departments for the Entrepreneur Club’s e-commerce business.
Entrepreneurship 3 & 4 will be added to the Program of Studies in the next two years. These courses will focus on finance, leadership, and business iteration in which students are expected to launch their own businesses. The proposed E-3 honors Course, Finance & New Venture Creation, will have students investigate incubator start-ups to learn finances and demystify venture capitalism. Students will focus on developing their own business plan while planning a product development design. We hope to take an optional trip over the summer to an international business hub to learn more about production.
With the proposed E-4 honors course, Learn & Launch, students will research management styles, examine legal risks, and finally launch their New Venture as a capstone project for our program. We plan on making room in our trophy cases for our first Mountain Lakes patent!
Interested in Helping Laker Launch in the Future?
One of the keys to Laker Launch being successful in the future is to leverage local community members, local businesses, and hopefully, ML Alumni. Laker Launch and the Entrepreneur Program are looking for mentors or speakers as well as businesses for the students to visit. If you would like to get involved with the MLHS Entrepreneur Program or know someone who would be a mentor or speaker, please contact Frank Sanchez at fsanchez@mlschools.org.
