Transforming Classrooms into Career Incubators for Students
VE offers programs that provide all students with authentic, collaborative, immersive business and entrepreneurial experiences.
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The VE Difference
Career Readiness
Students test drive potential careers and develop in-demand skills and competencies that post-secondary institutions and employers are seeking. Students establish and run departments such as Administration, Accounting, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources and IT, produce key deliverables required in a real business and are evaluated based on industry standards.
Immersive Learning
Students engage in hands-on learning experiences inside and outside the classroom. They conduct market research, develop business plans and annual reports, and experience financial market dynamics. Local, regional, and national events provide opportunities for students to present their work, experience real-world competition, network with peers, and connect with college and business partners.
Global Perspective
Students engage in trade with students from around the world using VE’s online global banking system that links all U.S. firms with other student-run businesses worldwide. As students engage in business and trade across industries, borders, and cultures, they develop cross-cultural awareness and an understanding of the global economy.
For High Schools
VE prepares students for successful futures by transforming classes into companies and bridging the divide between the classroom and the working world. VE is aligned to standards for grades 9-12.
Students develop essential leadership, professional, functional, and core technology skills through VE’s hands-on, immersive, work-based learning experiences. Over the course of an academic year, teachers become consultants as students work individually, in departments, and as a firm to develop, refine, and implement a business plan.
In order to manage their virtual business, students work in departments to manage day-to-day functions, produce key deliverables, assess growth, make decisions, respond to challenges, and participate in a variety of business-related events and activities, in-person, and through VE’s global marketplace.
VE classrooms break the mold by connecting students around the world, transforming teachers into facilitators, and turning the classroom into a vibrant workplace.
What’s Included for Schools
Curriculum & Supporting Activities
- Standards-Aligned Curriculum
- Student Assessments
- Student Evaluations
- Career Readiness Framework
- Conferences & Exhibitions
- Leadership Events
- Competitions
- Teacher Support & Training
- Ongoing Professional Development
Technology
- Teacher & Student Portal
- Learning Management System
- Online Banking System
- Online Competitions
- Webinars
- G Suite Accounts
- QuickBooks
- Online Store Manager
- E-Commerce Websites
People
- Industry Partners
- Business Professionals
- Skills-Based Volunteers
- Classroom Mentors
- International Network
- Teacher Network
- Alumni Network
- Regional Support Staff
- Engaged Leaders
- Postsecondary Partners
Resources
The VE-JV Career Academy is a two-course sequence offering real-world experiences and hands-on learning about technology, business, and careers. Students work individually and as a team to develop technology, problem solving, communication, and critical thinking skills, preparing them for success in high school and beyond.
Technology Applications for Business (7th grade) introduces students to technology projects typically used in the business and professional world that require facility with spreadsheets, presentation software, word-processing, graphics, web design, and social media. Lessons and activities are built around an entrepreneurial theme and include projects such as creating a budget, conducting a break-even analysis, making expense reports, developing newsletters, developing and presenting a business plan, and more.
VE-Junior Ventures (8th grade) challenges students to build on skills from Technology Applications by collaborating with their classmates to launch and manage a business that replicates the functions and demands of real business in both structure and practice. Students take on the roles of employees in a company, work in functional departments of the organization (marketing, sales, human resources, accounting, finance, and IT) and complete department-related work and projects that support the goals of the company.
What’s Included for Schools
Curriculum & Supporting Activities
- Hands-On, Standards-Aligned Curriculum including Teacher Lesson Plans, Student Activity Sheets and Supporting Material
- Student Assessments
- Portfolio Planning
- Student Evaluations
- Career Readiness Framework
- Conferences & Exhibitions
- Leadership Events
- Competitions
- Teacher Support & Training
- Ongoing Professional Development
Technology
- Teacher and Student Portal
- Learning Management System
- Online Banking System
- Online Competitions
- Webinars
- E-Commerce Websites
People
- Industry Partners
- Business Professionals
- Skills-Based Volunteers
- Opportunities for Classroom Mentors
- International Network
- Teacher Network
- Alumni Network
- Regional Support Staff
- Engaged Leaders
- High School & Postsecondary Partners
Resources
Let’s get to work!
Follow these 3 simple steps to learn about starting a VE program in your school or district:
- Fill out the interest form.
- Our Regional Director will contact you to discuss how VE can fit into your school’s programming.
- Register your school.