What does KCEO expect from my student?
Welcome to all parents of the Kandiyohi County Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (KCEO) students!
KCEO is not your traditional class. It never takes place in a school and is not ‘teacher directed’ like most classes your child has experienced. KCEO is a hands on, experiential class that will allow your stu-dents to learn what they need to know exactly when they need it and then apply it immediately to real life situations and scenarios. The class is guided by Ms. Johnson, a licensed teacher, but most of the ‘lessons’
are delivered by local business leaders who gift their time and expertise to the class. Since those business leaders are either guests of the class or are hosting the class in their business, that means the content they deliver cannot be made up when a student misses class. Help your student bear this in mind when the early AM alarm goes off and when they are tempted to sleep in. KCEO operates every school day beginning at 7:15am and concluding at 8:45am. We expect students to be present every class day, prepared and ready to learn. They need to keep track of the class locations and make their travel plans, including directions to the location so they are on time. They need to communicate well with each other and the class facilitator. Students must be dressed in business casual attire every day. Please review the information about what business casual means and work with your student meet this expectation. We expect them to be positive, respectful and accountable learners daily.
How Does My Student Get Graded for KCEO?
CEO students are graded at mid-year and end of year.
They will receive high school credit for their participation
in CEO. Each partner school district grants credits a bit
differently so it’s best to check with your school counselor
or high school principal for specific details.
Students are graded on daily participation, contribution to the class efforts and the quality of their weekly reflections. The Facilitator will review expectations for each of these graded elements with the students so they are aware of how grading will work. Adjustments will be made as needed for the current health situation.
As parents, we ask you to be encouraging your students to be prepared, be on time and be accountable. While CEO is a credit bearing, graded course that counts toward graduation requirements, it is also a safe place for students to learn real life lessons. We have found students start to figure out how to stay motivated, organized and how to handle both stress and failure during CEO. We aren’t running simulations-we run real life situations and real businesses with real money so things get pretty real pretty quick. This is an excellent learning opportunity for your student prior to college life, where they are away from home and in new environments.
You can best help your CEO student by being encouraging, listening and offering feedback but do not do things for them. They need to learn to balance priorities, have mature conversations and make action plans to accomplish their tasks. While it may be challenging, let them learn and cheer them on as they do!
Business Casual Attire
Part of participation in CEO requires students to dress the
part of an emerging entrepreneur so they should dress like
they would for a job or scholarship interview.
Male students should plan for khakis, dress pants, polos or
button down shirts. Dress shoes, belts and other accessories should be of a professional nature. Ties and jackets may be needed for certain class activities.
Female students should plan for dress pants, skirts, blouses
and dresses. Shoes and accessories must be of a professional nature. Mini skirts, shorts and mini dresses are not considered appropriate for CEO. Some students choose to change when they return to school for the rest of their day. That is a student/family decision.
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Friends of CEO Fund Assistance Available
The Board and our class Investors want the CEO experience to be accessible to all qualified students. From time to time, our students and families find the extra expenses of travel costs and business casual clothing add financial strain that impacts participation.
If your family faces financial difficulty in covering those costs for your CEO student there may be financial assistance available via the Friends of CEO Fund. The Friends of CEO Fund offers limited support for the
following expenses: *Business Casual clothing *Gas for CEO travel
To apply for assistance, contact the class facilitator or Sara Carlson at the Willmar Area Community Foundation (scarlson@communitygiving. org) for the application form. You will need to provide details for your situation and show hardship to the confidential review committee.
KCEO Calendar and Weather-Related Information
The New London-Spicer Public Schools calendar is the prevailing calendar for CEO. If NL-S Schools are scheduled
for classes, CEO meets and all students regardless of their home school district, are expected to be in attendance. The NL-S Schools calendar can be accessed online and should be referred to when planning appointments and travel.
When the weather is an issue, the CEO policy is: If NL-S
schools are closed due to weather, CEO does not meet.
If your home school is closed or delayed due to weather,
CEO students in those districts should not report for class. If your home school is on time or open and NL-S schools are late or closed, students should not report to It is our priority that students are safe; if parents are concerned about travel, please have your student contact the facilitator. They will also communicate with students via text message and group chats when schedules may be affected due to inclement weather.
A Tale of Three Businesses
Ideally, CEO students will be part of 3 different real-life
businesses during the coming year, 2 class businesses and 1
personal business. Typically, the first class business will
begin during the first week of class. Proceeds from that
class business serve as start-up capital for the second larger
class business, which will get underway around the holidays
and wrap up early next year.
The first class business is a road ready template that the students customize and develop. The second class business is fully in the hands of the students from concept to completion. We have no idea what they’ll come up with but we are here to support them! This business normally occurs mid-winter, shortly after winter break.
The profit from the second class business is ‘seed’ money for the students' personal businesses, which they will start working on shortly after the New Year. Please be mindful that the class business profits are not handled like pizza or cookie dough sales. They do not keep a specific amount nor is it divided equally among the students. This is business revenue not fundraising. The students are eligible to apply for a forgivable loan from the class and will meet with a local business banker to review their plan prior to receiving any seed funds. We do not run credit reports or file these loans against their credit; it is simply another real-life lesson about how businesses really start and how to work your idea into something that can be a real part of financing college and making a living.
Several CEO students created real viable businesses, are repaying their loans and are now taking their business to college successfully!