Launch! Course

Business Students Photo Launch! is an innovative business capstone course at Franklin High School. The goal of the course is to provide high school seniors an opportunity to guide and design their learning experience through hands on, project based, authentic learning experiences both within the classroom and out in the field with business partners.

The questions that will be addressed throughout the course include:

Why is it important to foster innovation and continuous improvement?
What is the relationship between ethics and success in business?
What elements encourage entrepreneurship?
How can an effective strategy lead to an appropriate solution?
How do successful entrepreneurs think strategically and then adapt their strategy to changing conditions?

Program Information

Course Structure

The four main components of the course are:

Online Modules: Online modules that will provide students with a variety of written, video and audio resources that present varied perspectives and insights on the 5 essential questions of the course. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the content, reflect on and synthesize the new information and apply their new knowledge through student designed learning experiences.

Mentor Relationship: Each student will have a professional business mentor that they maintain a working relationship with throughout the year. This relationship will provide an opportunity for students to receive advice and feedback on their Launch coursework as well as skills and strategies to develop as future business leaders.

Community Partner Projects: Students will work with business partners to engage in real-world projects that focus on a solution that meets an identified business need. Students will work with businesses throughout the project, and in turn will be developing professional contacts and marketable skills.

Capstone Project: Students will develop a business idea for a new product, system or service and will take this idea from imagination to innovation through the design thinking process. In the course of this authentic culminating project, students will build a business plan, seek out advice from their mentors, and collaborate with professionals and peers. Once complete, students will LAUNCH their end product to a public audience.

Course Benefits

For Community Partners

Partnership with business professionals is vital to the success of the Launch course! Businesses can partner with Launch students through a mentoring relationship or providing authentic project work. Launch instructors will work closely with business partners to ensure that businesses are getting their project proposal needs met by Launch students. Launch students will benefit greatly from their partnerships with business professionals in developing essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce -- including problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and network building.

Becoming a Mentor: Research shows that mentors have much to gain from a mentoring relationship -- it provides an opportunity to share expertise and identify and develop new talent that can enhance your own career. All Launch students are a part of a mentoring relationship.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a mentor, please complete this brief form.

Let’s Partner! Launch students are seeking out all kinds of businesses and organizations to work with, big or small! In this course, we are looking to our business partners to provide real project work to further their business goals -- giving Launch students an opportunity to gain valuable business experience, build their skills set and their professional resumes.

If your business has a project that the Launch class can tackle for you, please fill out the following form HERE.