Springside Chestnut Hill Academy receives grant to support entrepreneurship efforts

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy announced this week that they received a one-year grant from the NASDAQ QMX Educational Foundation to go towards the school’s recently launched Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

 

The center was started in September to provide students with resources to prep them to be innovative leaders and problem solvers. Some of the ways this will happen is through new curriculums surrounding Arts and Communication, Entrepreneurship, Engineering and New Media, Global Emersion, Ethics and Leadership and Statistics.

According to Kate Disston Noel, the Director of External Affairs at Springside, “the curriculum will be tailored accordingly to each grade.” For example, “the tenth graders may learn about how to start a business while the third graders may learn about how to create a program,” she said.

In a press release regarding the grant, President Dr. Priscilla Sands noted that, “as educators it is our responsibility to teach and expose students to a curriculum that challenges passive academic thinking. Our children are developing a mindset that embraces the idea of entrepreneurism throughout the many aspects of the world in which they live.”

The NASDAQ Foundation, who awarded the $50,000 grant to Springside, is fully supported through contributions from the NASDAQ QMX Group Inc., whose primary focus is technology and innovation across countries.

The NASDAQ Foundation’s mission is to promote learning about capital formation, financial markets and entrepreneurship through innovative educational programs. 38 schools and organizations including Springside were among the 2012 recipients. Columbia University, Stanford Law School and University of Pennsylvania Wharton School were among those listed as well.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership was created by Dr. Sands and Board Chairman and CEO of Urban Outfitters, Richard Hayne.

“We can no longer afford to educate students with a model rooted in the last century. The tenets of entrepreneurial leadership propel us to move boldly in a new direction, with a unique product that is rich in flavor, creativity, and innovation,” said Dr. Sands.