UMKC, Blue Springs schools testing entrepreneurship class
February 11, 2016 | Andrea Essner
The University of Missouri-Kansas City wants to play matchmaker between high school students and entrepreneurship.
UMKC announced Wednesday that it’s partnering with the Blue Springs School District to test an entrepreneurship course for both high school students and community members.
The course, which aims to introduce students to opportunities in entrepreneurship, is available for credit to students and non-credit to community members. “Introduction to Entrepreneurship”
aims to acquaint both students and community members to the opportunities available in area entrepreneurship.
“Many people were determined to see this course offered in Blue Springs, and Annette Seago, the assistant superintendent of the Blue Springs School District, worked hard to bring it to fruition,” said Jeff Hornsby, director of the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
To encourage enrollment, Seago worked with Lead Bank to provide three $500 scholarships to select local companies that send employees to attend the class.
Philip Gonsher, assistant teaching professor of entrepreneurship and marketing at UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management, is currently teaching the pilot program in Blue Springs to 19 students and community members. Starting in the fall, the course will be taught by two Blue Springs high school teachers and will be offered to students for dual high school and college credit.
Hornsby recognizes that this is an opportunity for students to not only learn more about entrepreneurship, but also get a taste of what UMKC’s Bloch School has to offer.
“Blue Springs has high school students who are potentially interested in the Bloch School entrepreneurship program, and they can begin the education process through course offerings such as this,” Hornsby said.
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Just another day in Paradise (EDU): Urban nursery turns soil to nurture STEAM students
When learners dig into the Paradise Garden Club STEAM program, they unearth non-traditional learning opportunities in a classroom cased in chlorophyll. “It starts on a very base level — using your hands to work with raw soil,” said Jessica Teliczan, owner and operator of Crossroads-planted Paradise Garden Club, teasing the newly launched effort — formally branded…
Tech meets Amish craftsmanship for a ‘matchless’ DIY home experience dealt by this KC engineer
From Kansas City-coded Stackify to his dream job at Microsoft, working in tech is a labor of love for Jason Taylor. But it couldn’t keep him from hanging a side hustle. “I’ve always been a do-it-yourself project type of person,” Taylor said, noting numerous remodeling projects he and his wife, Lindsay, have taken on over…
It’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses
Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…
Final capital push expected to bring $13M rebuild to Troost, replacing building held together by ‘duct tape, plaster, and prayer’
Decades of dreaming are coming to an end, said Father Justin Mathews, announcing the final phase of a $13 million capital campaign that’s expected to realize a long-held plan to magnify the impact of Reconciliation Services. “We’ve been in the building since 1987 — and its been held together with duct tape, plaster, and prayer,” Mathews,…
