The Academy of Entrepreneurship at Mountain Ridge H.S. is a Signature Program

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Welcome to The Academy of Entrepreneurship at Mountain Ridge High School. As part of the National Academy Foundation program, your student is about to embark on a career-focused journey. Embedded within the Career and Technical Education, CTE, course offerings, this Academy is creating our future business owners! In the first year, 16 student businesses have been launched by high school students on campus! We now have 17 students that started a business WHILE in High School!  If you are coming from outside the Mountain Ridge school boundaries,  please be sure to go through the OPEN ENROLLMENT process with the district. 

Your gateway into this academy is through the Marketing-Advanced Marketing-CTE Internship pathway.  Marketing students can earn High School Economics Credits, 12 College Credits, 5 Honor Cords, DECA and NAF Scholarships, & Industry Certifications. There are other options to gain NAFTrack certification with Project Lead the Way, PTLW, courses on our campus.  The school offers BioMedical and Engineering options with PLTW.

Why the Academy of Entrepreneurship?

This is the program for those that might want to open their own business one day!  The students write a business plan during class.  They are connected with community leaders that can help advise them and prepare them to open a business.  We have had 16 businesses opened by our students while they were still in high school.  We have more in the pipeline. We also help develop your leadership skills.  We are home to the International DECA President for 2020-2021, Ms. Catherine Horton.  This academy can help you earn college credit, prepare you for your career, get you NAFTrack certified, and network you with business leaders. 

Where we have been and what we have done!

Our students travel every year and we are often invited to presentations at National Conferences.  Our students traveled to New York twice.  Once, for winning a Shark Tank competition…and Yes we met a Shark from the show!  And another time for our marketing and community service projects to Fortune 500 Business Leaders at a Gala hosted by Lenovo.

Student Troy Borman was named Peoria Hometown Hero Entrepreneur of the Year for his Baseball Bat business. 

VIDEO: In the business of hitting home runs | The Daily Independent at YourValley.net

Find out more by signing up for Marketing at Mountain Ridge High School or contact Jeffrey Samaniego.