Entrepreneur Center launches Metro schools program

Entrepreneurship is on track to become a bigger part of classroom discussions at Nashville schools.

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center and Metro Nashville Public Schools are launching TeacherPreneur, a program that will help high school business teachers connect students with information on building companies.

The program includes a one-day, onsite workshop to provide teachers with online resources and training, and it will be offered at all Metro high schools in 2015. The goal is to help teachers offer real world applications to students interested in entrepreneurship, and those teachers will have access to the EC’s mentors.

“This partnership provides an incredible opportunity to better prepare our teachers to authentically integrate business and entrepreneurial skills mirroring real-life tasks in the classroom,” Jay Steele, chief academic officer for MNPS, said in a statement. “This curriculum is motivating, stimulating, empowering and challenging for our students, giving them the competitive edge they will need to succeed in the future.”

The program is funded by PNC Bank and will be included as professional development options for Metro teachers.

The partnership stemmed from interest at the Entrepreneur Center to help support entrepreneurship-related curriculum being developed at the Academies of Nashville. Rather than teach courses, it made sense to support teachers with resources and tools, said Jared Marquette, director of business partnerships at the Entrepreneur Center. Teachers outside of the business academies have also expressed interest in the TeacherPreneur program, attracted to the critical thinking elements included in entrepreneurship.

“There is really demand for the train of thought,” Marquette said. “We are trying to instill the entrepreneurial spirit as well as the tools to build your business.”

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.