CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System officially opened Founders Inc., a new entrepreneurship program at the Burt Innovation Center designed to give high school students hands-on experience in developing businesses.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, district leaders showcased the renovated facility and explained how the program will provide juniors and seniors from across the district with the opportunity to learn entrepreneurship, develop business ideas, build prototypes and pitch those ideas to investors with guidance from educators and community mentors.
Before the ribbon cutting, CMCSS Director of Schools Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder reflected on the history of the building, which first served Black students during segregation before being transformed into an innovation center for today’s students.
Burt High School first opened on East Franklin Street in 1923 as the first and only public high school for Black students in Montgomery County. The school was named after Dr. Robert T. Burt, a respected surgeon who founded the first hospital in Clarksville and believed strongly in education and creating opportunities for others.
In 1952, Burt High School moved locations, but the high school closed in 1970 and later reopened as Burt Elementary School in 1980 before eventually requiring significant renovations.
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Rather than simply updating the facility, it was decided to transform it into a center focused on innovation and entrepreneurship while preserving the building’s history. “Today, we’re proud to open Founders Inc. at the Burt Innovation Center,” Luna-Vedder said.
She said the program continues the legacy of Dr. Burt by creating opportunities for students to solve real-world problems, work alongside experienced entrepreneurs and mentors, and transform ideas into reality.
“Founders Inc. gives high school students a place where big ideas are welcomed, a place where creativity is encouraged, a place where students can learn from experienced entrepreneurs, experienced mentors, solve real world problems, and discover what it takes to turn dreams and ideas into a reality,” Luna-Vedder said.
Two-year entrepreneurship program
Founders Inc. is open to CMCSS juniors and seniors from all high schools who have an interest in entrepreneurship. Students do not need to already own a business or have a developed idea before entering the program.
Emily Butcher, a consulting teacher with Career and Technical Education, said students will spend one class period each school day at the facility. Students will first complete the incubator program during their junior year, where they identify problems, validate ideas, research customers, develop prototypes and prepare investor pitches. During their senior year, students move into the accelerator portion of the curriculum, focusing on company formation, customer acquisition, marketing, scaling a business and refining operations.
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Throughout the program, students receive coaching from teachers, mentors and local business professionals, while developing products or services that could eventually become real businesses. “They’re going to be able to come here and learn about how to become an entrepreneur and then put their idea into action, build a prototype and then learn how to pitch their idea to investors,” Butcher said.
Students also have opportunities to present their business ideas to local business leaders. Top projects may advance to national judging, with finalists earning the chance to compete in a national entrepreneurship competition in Chicago for startup funding.
Learning through collaboration
Unlike a traditional classroom, Founders, Inc. is built around collaboration and project-based learning.
The facility includes specialized design studios that support student projects, including woodworking equipment, sewing and apparel production equipment, t-shirt presses, media production spaces, podcast and video studios, conference rooms, presentation areas and other flexible workspaces.
These resources are available to support whatever business ideas students develop. “If they need to build something with the woodworking studio for their prototyping or they want to promote their business through our AV studio, they have all of those things at their disposal,” Butcher said.
Amy Shoopman, the Workforce Learning Coordinator for CMCSS and one of the instructors for Founders, Inc., said the curriculum includes structured opportunities for students to receive feedback from mentors, revise their ideas and continue improving their products throughout the year. The curriculum also makes it easy for outside business owners to participate as guest lecturers.
$11 million grant, serving students across the district
Dayna Paine, CMCSS Director of Career and Technical Education, said the center was renovated using funding from Tennessee’s Innovative School Models grant. The district received approximately $11 million through the grant. While some of that funding was used to renovate Founders, Inc., additional funds supported new career and technical education labs and improvements at other district schools.
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Students apply to participate in the program, and there is no cost to attend. Transportation is also provided for students who do not drive. Paine said while the district hopes some students eventually launch successful companies, the broader goal is developing skills that prepare students for life after graduation.
“We’d love to see students that walk out of here with businesses that are thriving,” Paine said. “But more importantly, we really just want our students to walk out with the skills that they need to be successful in whatever they’re doing.” She said those skills include communication, networking, problem-solving and resilience, explaining that the program’s name reflects its core mission: innovate, network and create.
Community involvement encouraged
Paine explained that the success of Founders, Inc. depends heavily on partnerships with local businesses and community members. Founders, Inc. is seeking volunteers to serve as mentors and guest lecturers. Mentors generally meet with student teams about once a month to provide guidance, while guest lecturers can teach individual sessions on a range of topics.
“We need mentors for these students,” CMCSS spokesperson Anthony Johnson said. “We need guest speakers; we need lecturers. We need folks to come in as we work through this curriculum to help students understand what they’re learning about entrepreneurship and how it’s connected to the real world.”
In addition to volunteer support, donations through the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Foundation will help fund future student opportunities, including travel to national competitions.
For more information visit the CMCSS website.
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