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:

• 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)
  • Microeconomics (.5 credit)
  • Macroeconomics (.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.