Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum

Mel Nelson, Head of School

Revitalizing our programs and curriculum has been incredible Our Sagemont Prep educators focus on rigorous academic content, high-impact instruction, student engagement, and real-world application Through this, we develop in our students, your children, life-long skills that are rooted in the educational principles of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Embedding entrepreneurship and innovation at the core of our curriculum is not by chance. We know that this foundation, at any age, allows students to perfect real-life skills, which include problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, curiosity, analytical thinking, responsible-risk taking and being reflective. It is with these skills that our students can navigate anything presented before them. Having the ability to pivot, understand setbacks, and move forward are critical components that we value. Entrepreneurship and innovation are embedded across our curriculum from PS-12th grade, and this month, we are elated to share with you the many curricular and cocurricular processes and outcomes of this engagement thus far.

From our “kinderprenuers” planning and developing their Kindermart to our seniors at the recent Entrepreneurship Night showcasing nine businesses, we are deeply entrenched in this area of growth. In order to foster entrepreneurship and innovation continuously within our classroom, our educators have and are engaged in various professional development opportunities.

Through a partnership with Uncharted Learning, many of our educators and administrators have received ongoing professional development and coaching in actively empowering learners to acquire critical skills and knowledge, practice new behaviors, and adopt new mindsets across an entrepreneurial journey. This journey includes:

Discovery: Adopting a spirit of curiosity, creativity, imagination, innovation, optimism, problem-finding, and opportunity-seeking.

Design: Approaching challenges as inherently solvable through a process of complex thinking, creative problemsolving, and purposeful design.

Development: Actively experimenting, tinkering, testing, iterating, team-building, and project-managing. Delivery: Effectively communicating, packaging, and telling compelling stories of big ideas while actively connecting with and influencing key stakeholders.

Extensive professional experiences are key to our curricular growth, and this includes training beyond Uncharted Learning as well. Sagemont Prep is part of an extensive group of educational institutions. We are very fortunate to have an education team that provides professional learning opportunities to our Instructional Mentors, Vanguard Teachers, and Academic Team Leaders on a monthly basis In turn, our Sagemont Prep lead teachers and campus leaders across both campuses facilitate a wide range of professional development to expand our knowledge on research-based practices, as we improve student achievement It truly has been an evolution of thought, processes, and a genuine love for learning for both our Sagemont Prep educators and the students.

Sincerely yours in transformative educational excellence,

Mel Nelson

Vega, Ticket Experience,” developed a VIP section at the home basketball game. Patrons were treated to elevated seating in a prime location and a delicious full-service meal. Eric stated that the learning experience was invaluable, but a lot of work! “We definitely understood that we had to make the VIP section visually appealing to attract customers. We learned that we needed to have excellent customer service and keep everything clean and sanitary. In the end, we definitely bought too much food, which cut into profits, and if we had eliminated some waste, we would have been even more successful.”

After weeks of anticipation, Sagemont Prep celebrated the grand re-opening of Pride Rock Café, with much fanfare including a reunion of the original founding club members and visitors from the Spring Education executive team. Pride Rock Café is the cornerstone of our educational philosophy of student-powered innovation. After a Capital Improvement project of over $70,000, we are excited to continue our mission grounded in entrepreneurship and innovation in a new and refreshed space at the Upper Campus. Pride Rock Café was conceptualized and opened during the 2017-18 academic year by a group of students who had the vision to create an inviting space for students to create and gather while harnessing an entrepreneurial mindset.

Alexa Frances, General Manager of Pride Rock and President of DECA, stated, "Pride Rock is an outlet of expression and creativity. It is a place of collaboration where artists, different clubs, and athletes can work together. Pride Rock has also always focused on giving back and has donated to the SCUBA Club to help get them started, raised money for the Navajo Water Project, ChildNet, and other charities." Alexa currently manages 32 members and has enjoyed developing her public speaking and leadership skills as a result of her role in the club. Alexa credits Mr. Brown for pushing her to her full potential and says, "I would never have thought I could run for Vice President two years ago if Mr. Brown did not tell me 'young lady- you can do this!'"

Pride Rock has inspired many younger students to become more involved in clubs and to take responsible risks. Nicolas Arencibia, the first middle school student to join, stated, "I’ve been able to expand my understanding of entrepreneurship through my experience with Pride Rock and my time with Mr. Brown, because I have been able to see firsthand and behind the scenes of a business. The grand opening is the opening of new doors, both literally and figuratively, to expand knowledge.” Nicolas is looking forward to hosting upcoming events such as the Sagemont Prep Book Club meeting, the Interact Club “Smash Brothers” video gaming fundraiser for Handy, and providing concessions for the first Aerial Drone Competition on campus.

Alongside our student entrepreneurs, we congratulate our student innovators. The Sagemont Prep Aerospace Engineering Team, aptly named “Spacemont,” recently attended the 2023 Student Astronaut Space Challenge at the Kennedy Space Center. The student Astronaut Challenge is an aerospace-based competition in which students are tasked with challenges in the following categories: aerospace engineering, space science design, space shuttle flight simulation, space shuttle landing simulation, and flight patch design. Impressively, the Spacemont team is entirely composed of middle school students who tackled these challenges.

Earlier this school year, the Sagemont Synergy Rock Band Class and Synergy Singers Club auditioned for Disney’s Imagination Campus. Imagination Campus selects different musical acts from around the country to perform at Disney. Synergy was thrilled to be selected to perform and participate in Disney’s 50th Anniversary and rocked out on the stage at Disney Springs for an enthusiastic audience. Students proudly represented the Sagemont Preparatory School jammin’ to songs by Fleetwood Mac, Queen, and Phil Collins.

Sagemont Prep Lower School

Monica Vigna, Lower School Principal

At Sagemont Preparatory Scho entrepreneurship opportunities students about finances, sales, savings, and marketing, to name a few. At the same time, students can learn critical life skills such as brainstorming, operations, problem-solving, risk-taking, facing failure and having the perseverance to get back up again, setting goals, working collaboratively in a team, and feeling comfortable to work individually.

Our students are presented with opportunities that will prepare them for the many unknowns of the future job market. It is critical that they can think and build for themselves. These opportunities incorporated into lessons, themes, projects, and special areas correlate to our Educational Pillars: curiosity, creativity, analytical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, responsible risk-taking, and reflection. Our educators teach the importance of being resilient, having a vision, and embracing opportunities.

Our fifth-grade teachers emphasize the school's Educational Pillars and mission utilizing the Uncharted Learning comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum mxINCedu. The program is facilitated by our teachers, but it is our 5th graders that do the heavy lifting and are active participants. MxINCedu is a progressive, experiential journey that empowers students to drive their own learning and embrace an iterative process of testing, learning, and applying the learning. The project consists of six distinct phases of doing, supported by the curriculum. Students utilize creative brainstorming, business models, and logical risk-taking skills to develop their businesses. Each student in 5th grade developed and presented their business pitch and worked collaboratively with a classmate to effectively market their business.

Many opportunities continue to be presented to our students at Sagemont Prep. These opportunities provide real-world exposure to better prepare them for their future. Recently our student council participated in a community service project. Students assumed full responsibility for the project, including effectively budgeting for the event. This opportunity maximized our Educational Pillars of collaboration and reflection.

Our Environmental Club students are also on an entrepreneurial journey. Students collaborated with the science department and brainstormed during their monthly meetings ways to conserve water. This process began with identifying a problem and creatively seeking possible solutions. In-depth discussions took place on the usage of water and possible ways to conserve water at home and school. Their next step was to analyze the school's water bill. The students were curious to see how much water is utilized at the school. Upon completing the research, students presented a proposal to the leadership team noting suggestions for conserving water.

In February, Sagemont Prep students immersed themselves in learning about black entrepreneurs and leaders and their impact on society. Students learned from a variety of key figures. The community was brought into the classroom to enhance their experience and expand their knowledge of black entrepreneurs and leaders. Parents provided mini sessions on their business, triumphs, and challenges.

Our preschool students have been learning about American History and the accomplishments of many African Americans. The class focused on one influential leader each week. They began with Flemmie Pansy Kittrell, the first African American woman to earn a Ph. D. in nutrition. The importance of eating healthy and learning about the food we put in our bodies was highlighted throughout the discussion. The students continued their lessons by studying Robert Tanner, the first African American to graduate with a dental degree in the U.S. The children loved learning about how to take care of their teeth through hands-on activities and even roleplayed being a dentist in our dramatic play area. The lessons were correlated to being a leader in society. The students will continue to learn about other leaders like Garrett Morgan and artists like Romare Bearden. Incorporating diversity is a priority all year long.t