What a great week it’s been, and today was the icing on the cake. This year, I’ve been facilitating the first phase of a high school business department curriculum redesign. I am blown away by how hard these teachers have worked and by how willing they are to move far outside of their comfort zone.

Together, we’ve created three distinct endorsements that high school graduates may work toward as they complete a pathway through the business department and onward into the world of work or higher education:

  • Entrepreneurial Leadership
  • Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development
  • Information Technology Leadership

Each endorsement requires students to complete coursework within these strands:

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing and Management
  • Finance
  • Global Leadership
  • Technology

Several new courses will be designed over the coming year, including Innovation and Creativity, Social Entrepreneurship, and Social Media Marketing. We’ve only just begun, but I cannot wait to see where these teachers and students go with this project. This year has been about establishing a vision, outcomes, big ideas, and essential questions. One of the greater outcomes? Engaging every student in every course in the work of a collaborative service-learning project. Kids will engage in inquiry that will enable them to define a community problem, propose potential solutions, and evaluate the most viable option. Then, they will work together to get the job done, relying on their varied expertise across courses.

Days years like these make me feel very fortunate for the work that I get to do and the people that I get to do it with.

Never a dull moment.

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9 Comments

  1. What a fantastic redesign!! I plan to share with my cousin who is a business teacher as well as others looking to redesign what they offer!!

    Hats off to both you and those teachers!

  2. I know that these teachers would like her perspective (and others’ as well). This is where we are right now, but it’s all a work in progress, and they are eager to know what other schools are doing to deliver their kids beyond the traditional offerings of keyboarding/accounting/marketing/computer applications as they move forward.

    What’s been fantastic is that they’ve been given a good amount of lead time to research and think and plan. Outcomes aren’t due until fall when the course catalog for 2011-2012 goes to press, and we have all of next year to learn more, revamp scheduling, and connect with other schools and teachers. Knowing that they don’t have to be ready to launch all of this in September has helped everyone involved be quite willing to make some pretty substantial changes. We’ve been able to strategically plan pd support as well, so they are feeling confident and comfortable about beginning to teach around these new and very different topics…..18 months from now. Been a bit of a perfect storm, I guess. Thanks, Theresa!

  3. I am sure our Business Teachers would be a great resource and be open to a collaborative opportunity!

    • That would be fantastic. These teachers are wonderful and really eager to connect with others locally. Maybe we can talk with Sean about bringing them together. I can share what we’ve done so far, Melissa. Just a beginning, and they are doing some things that feel very new to them, but they are excited. Me too : ))

  4. Susan Young Reply

    Wow! Looks like an amazing vision. I’m a high school Business Studies teacher with a position of responsibility and would love to have the opportunity to collaborate or provide feedback! I’ll DM you.

    • I look forward to touching base with you, Susan. Happy to share what we’re up to and eager to gain your perspective.

  5. Theresa Murray Reply

    Great course ideas and so relevant! We have two business and two technology strands approved with NYSED leading to CTE endorsement. Our fifth strand did not get approval because a couple of classes were not taught by CTE teachers. We begin our re-certification this year for our first one! Tons of work but so relevant and important. Let me know if you need anything from CNY. Would love to see the end result for your teachers.

    • Thanks Theresa! I am meeting with everyone tomorrow, and I plan to show them this post and the replies generated. I know they’ll be eager to connect further. Much appreciated!

  6. Inching forward with this initiative and lots to share! I have a new post up here to bring you up to speed. Feel free to email me at stockmanangela@gmail.com if you are interested in collaborating at all or want greater detail. Again, we’re a small group, but this has been such an exciting project. Eager to keep sharing!

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