In 2014, the Lake Forest High School Foundation funded the original $25,000 needed to purchase the Business Incubator curriculum and transform an appropriate learning space. Since then, the LFHS Foundation has supported the school’s business program through annual grants for the Business Incubator.  

A Junior-level honors course, the Business Incubator offers students a unique opportunity to become true entrepreneurs by creating their own product or service. Students are coached and mentored by real entrepreneurs and business experts from our community and beyond.  The course culminates in Pitch Night, a Shark Tank-style presentation where student teams present their ideas and products to the community in hopes of gaining funding to take their business to market. 

Students in this year's program presented their MVP Pitches in February.

In February, the Business Incubator held its 11th Annual Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Pitches, and 75 juniors presented to a panel of eight local business people to secure initial seed money for their product or service. The LFHS Foundation allocates $5200 to divide among 18 incubator groups. 

“Over the last 11 years, our Business Incubator program has spawned multiple businesses, many of which continue today, said Phil LaScala, Business Education Teacher.  During the year-long course, student teams learn about ideation, marketing, accounting, human resources, as well as the legal and financial aspects of starting a business. The support of the LFHS Foundation and the local business community is what helps to make this program such a huge success.”

During this years’ MVP pitch, the students had many unique ideas including a website named Bartero that allows people to trade items instead of buying or selling, an app and live auction site for young artists starting out and BingeBuddy, an app that connects with your streaming platforms to help recommend top shows to watch.  Each group had 10-15 minutes to pitch their business idea and explain how they would use the initial seed money. The MVP pitches resulted in nine teams being awarded $300 with an additional nine teams receiving $250.

The students spent the last couple of months testing their Minimum Viable Product. Some Academic Pitches were presented to the judges on May 7, and the rest will be presented on May 8. As teams pitched on Wednesday afternoon, many mentors popped in to watch and offer feedback and advice. Teams pitching hope to earn one of four spots for Pitch Night. New this year will be the opportunity for a fifth wildcard spot. So, those teams that don't earn a spot from the judges can keep working in the hopes that they will make it to the stage as the wildcard. The results of the judges' deliberations during Academic Pitches will be announced in a subsequent email.

Pitch night will be held on May 22, starting at 7 pm in the Raymond Moore Auditorium at LFHS. At Pitch Night, our judges will determine which teams will receive prize funding to continue their work into senior year within the Business Accelerator course.  

Some teams in this year's program presented Academic Pitches on May 7th.

This fall, with a change in the law, the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles started allowing the learning permit test and driving permit eye exam to be overseen by local high schools. Students would be able to take and complete the permit test AND the eye test at LFHS. 

Unfortunately, LFHS did not own a certified vision screener, so the Driver’s Ed staff turned to the LFHS Foundation and requested an Illinois State Certified Vision Screener and Software to be able to provide this service to our students. The off-cycle request was granted and eliminates a trip to the DMV for our students and parents (freeing up spots at the DMV for others). 

During this year's regular grant cycle, the Driver's Ed staff made another significant request: cab-style driving simulators to provide students with an off-road driving experience. While perhaps not STEM in the traditional sense, bringing science and technology to driving has become a necessity. According to USAToday.com, “Generation Z no longer values driver's licenses the same way past generations did. Only one in 25 licensed drivers in the U.S. is 19 or younger - a decline from more than two decades prior, according to data from the Department of Transportation.” Students are not clamoring to drive anymore, and their parents are happy not to take them out. However, the State of Illinois requires all students to pass driver’s ed to graduate from high school. What this means is that more and more students are arriving at driver’s ed classes having never been behind the wheel. They experience significant anxiety about the process as the teacher hands them the keys. With rushed, over-scheduled students, who would prefer not to drive, the students are not as comfortable behind the wheel as they once were. 

These cab simulators truly provide the feel of being in a car with a wrap-around screen as the front window. As part of the Foundation Grant Committee’s vetting process, they visited Libertyville High School and saw their eight simulators in action. In speaking with the teachers at Libertyville, we discovered that the cab style truly alleviated the stress of being behind the wheel and gave students tons of opportunities to practice skills to increase confidence. The onboard computer includes 16 modules for learning, and also can include a separate series on distracted driving. ​

Furthermore, acquiring these simulators will provide our students with learning disabilities additional time to repeat and learn needed skills, and for those who will never drive, they will provide the opportunity to know what it is like to drive a car. With the acquisition of the simulators, the curriculum of driver’s ed at LFHS will change. Going from two days of classroom and one day of driving, the students will now be in the simulation lab one day a week as well. Increasing the amount of time behind the wheel, and providing relevant, pointed practice and repeated experiences, will ensure that LFHS students will be the best drivers possible – whether they are driving downtown Lake Forest, or on Route 60.

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