For the 2019-2020 school year, the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship will welcome 10 new CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Programs into its network, growing the CEO Program to a total of 51 CEO communities across the United States, in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado and Alabama.

These are communities that are committed to creating a world-class learning environment for high school students through interactive, real-life learning in local businesses throughout the community.

The concepts and experiences that students learn through their interactions with local businesses and community leaders in the CEO Program are critical to their futures. Twenty-first-century skills, such as technological literacy, critical thinking, communication, working in a team setting, and the ability to question and analyze the world around them, are at the core of each student’s development throughout this course.

The CEO Program started in Effingham 11 years ago, first facilitated by educator and community leader, Craig Lindvahl. Two years later, other communities started asking for the CEO Program, and the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship was formed to help spread CEO across the United States.