Leadership Matters April 2014 1

Barrington High School Business Incubator teacher Hagop Soulakian leads the classroom

First-ever high school business incubator course takes off in Barrington Class creates student entrepreneurs through real-life curriculum, coaching from business leaders

course. “We wanted the room to be so different that you had a mindset change when you walked in.” The Incubator course offered in Barrington 220 was launched in the 2013-2014 school year. Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the one-year course for 125 sophomores and juniors teaches students how to launch, market and operate their own businesses. The idea for the class was the brainchild of Fruecht and Michael Miles. As entrepreneurs themselves, they saw a need for this type of instruction at the high school level and developed the unique curriculum for Barrington 220. The duo believe people learn by doing, rather than learning entirely from textbooks. “Everything that we did was really focused on creating an authentic experience.” Miles said. “Our objective is to teach students the process of entrepreneurship. We also share a much broader perspective in wanting to see students launch successful businesses.” Creating a business idea is often daunting, so (Continued on page 5)

By Morgan Delack Media Relations & Social Media Assistant Barrington 220 School District

The sense of excitement is overwhelming when entering the doors of the Business Incubator classroom at Barrington High School. This isn’t your ordinary class. “It’s going very, very well. It’s exceeding what our original expectations were,” said Barrington 220 School District Superintendent Dr. Tom Leonard. “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.” This Walt Disney quote is prominently displayed on the wall of the Incubator classroom, and students take the message to heart. Student teams gather around office-like clusters in all corners of the room, discussing finances and marketing ideas. The unique setting feels more like the headquarters of Google or Apple than a high school classroom, and the student experience is simply one-of-a-kind. “We wanted to create a concept where students would walk through the classroom door, leave school, and go to work,” said Karl Fruecht, co-founder of the

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