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Entrepreneurial Leadership Program

Entrepreneurial concepts and thinking are a schoolwide focus, and beginning in ninth grade, students may choose to be part of our four-year Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. It is the nation's first four-year, secondary school entrepreneurship program in the country, and courses include:

Entrepreneurial Leadership Courses

  • Speech (.5 credit, part of Freshman Year Seminar Class)
  • Economics of Business (.5 credit)
  • Applied Models of Economics Honors (1 credit)* - Offered in 12th grade
  • Elective Courses (must choose 2)
    • Business Communication (.5 credit)
    • Fabrication and Design Methods (.5 credit)
    • Leadership for Entrepreneurs (.5 credit)
    • Marketing for Entrepreneurs (.5 credit)
    • Managerial Finance (.5 credit)
    • Social Entrepreneurship (.5 credit)

All Upper School students may take EL classes as electives; however, a student must complete two hours of EL credits and Applied Models of Economics to graduate with the EL distinction.

Senior Capstone

The program’s four-year course progression culminates in the senior capstone class, Applied Models of Economics. Capstone students work with local entrepreneurs in the first semester to gain real-world experience and then create their own ventures in the second semester. At the end of the year, students compete in a shark-tank-like competition that is judged by a well-known panel of Nashville entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. 

Entrepreneurial Leadership Faculty

Brad Dennis

Brad Dennis

Director of Entrepreneurial Leadership
Nancy Baker

Nancy Baker

CAE Coordinator, Assistant to Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
Denise Eisenhauer

Denise Eisenhauer

Associate Director of Entrepreneurial Leadership
Jonathan Hackett

Jonathan Hackett

US Dean of Students, US Baseball
Kate Monfils

Kate Monfils

US Math, US Managerial Finance, US Girls Soccer
Jennifer Schraeder

Jennifer Schraeder

US Speech and Debate

Yarbrough Family Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

The Yarbrough Family Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, inside the Sondra Morris and Robert N. Moore, Jr. '52 Center for Arts and Entrepreneurship, features board rooms designed for client meetings and pitches; multiple collaborative learning spaces, where student teams can work together to solve critical questions; office space for future entrepreneurs-in-residence; and a makerspace outfitted with state-of-the-art technology to engineer and produce student prototypes. 

BELEAF WINS 2023 EL CAPSTONE PITCH

Congratulations to seniors MacKenzie Huntington, Isabelle Northam, Oliver Baker, and Sydney Carroll on winning this year's Entrepreneurial Leadership Capstone Pitch Competition!

Read More about BELEAF WINS 2023 EL CAPSTONE PITCH