Swartz Creek View

GISD expands reach and learning experience for annual Youth Entrepreneurship Program


FLINT – Youth entrepreneurship has been proven to improve students’ academic performance, school attendance, interpersonal skills, job readiness, problem solving skills, and decision-making abilities.

This is why the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) is excited to announce that the second year of the Youth Entrepreneurship program, InnovatEd, will begin at high schools across Genesee County this week. Twenty-two local school districts have signed on to take advantage of this exciting opportunity where students are challenged to develop and execute their creativity and business savvy. After a successful first year, leaders at GISD worked to expand the Youth Entrepreneurship program to make it even better. To enhance the program, GISD partnered with the Youth Entrepreneurship Institute and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a global pioneer in entrepreneurship education, to help implement a new program called Emerging Entrepreneurs (EE). In EE, area students will work through 20 modules then develop a business idea and plan. Once their plan is complete, students will create a pitch for their business idea. Students in each participating high school entrepreneurship club will compete in their own pitch competition, winners from each site contest will participate in the 2nd Annual Countywide Pitch Competition on May 7th.

“Youth Entrepreneurship has been proven to develop a growth mindset that is not only conducive to starting a business, but can be applied to real life situations,” said Youth Entrepreneurship Coordinator Sherquanda Carroll.

The top winners of the Countywide Pitch Competition are encouraged to participate in national competitions for the chance to win an expenses paid trip to New York City to participate in the NFTE Annual Business Showcase in October.

“We know how talented our students are in Genesee County and we want to help them achieve their goals and expose them to all the possibilities and opportunities available,” said Mary Behm, GISD Assistant Superintendent of Education and Learning. – G.G.