YO U T H P R O G RA M S
Youth Entrepreneurs and The Prospects By Tiana Yates
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS COORDINATOR
Y
outh Entrepreneurs (YE) is a nationally recognized program founded over 30 years ago in Wichita, Kansas. It was brought to Montana in 2017 and was pioneered by six teachers. In just the past six months, the YE program has grown significantly in Montana and now boasts 150 teachers in 88 schools. The YE curriculum is designed to effectively develop employability traits and instill economic and entrepreneurial principles in our future workforce through the Foundational Principles that guide behavior. YE believes the Foundational Principles help students succeed in both the classroom and in life. The YE Foundational
Principles are: • • • • • • • •
WIN-WIN FOCUS KNOWLEDGE RESPONSIBILITY PASSION FREEDOM SOUND JUDGMENT INTEGRITY OPPORTUNITY
By engaging with the curriculum, students learn behaviors business leaders are asking for—creative thinking, punctuality, putting away phones during work time—so when they get to a job site, they see how their role in the company directly impacts the company’s success.
YE encourages students to think outside the box and utilize critical thinking; two traits identified as lacking in today’s workforce. Within the YE curriculum, a program called “Think Outside the Box” encourages students to utilize YE’s Foundational Principals in a race to put together puzzles. The catch is, neither team will have all the correct pieces to their puzzle. This leads to trading and communicating with the other groups to solve the challenge. The Montana Chamber Foundation also brings career awareness into the classrooms by connecting YE to our second workforce readiness initiative—a high school business pitch competition called The Prospects. Through this competition, students are rewarded for their entrepreneurial ideas with cash, scholarships, mentorships, and experiences. Students utilize what they learn through YE to create a two-minute video and one-page business summary. Business leaders from across the state judge the submissions and mentor the students on their ideas. The Prospects—and now Junior Prospects for junior high students— connects the business and the education communities. Also, The Prospects provides teachers an opportunity to bring business leaders directly into their classrooms for relationship-building and real-life experience. YE and The Prospects are transforming the student experience and positioning students to be better prepared for the workforce. Both programs have gained incredible momentum in the last six months, and we’re looking forward to seeing how far we can go. stop
Tiana Yates is the Youth Entrepreneurs Coordinator for the Montana Chamber of Commerce and lives in Colstrip, Montana. She graduated college with a degree in Business and Economics and worked in the business world for a few years after graduation. Upon moving to Colstrip, she discovered her passion for education and taught business education classes at Colstrip High School for three years.
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MONTANA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE