Carroll ISD’s school board voted to institute a new certificate program for business at a meeting earlier this month.
On September 11, the Carroll Business Academy (CBA) was given the green light after community members presented the initiative to diversify educational opportunities.
One of the minds behind CBA was Guy Midkiff, a former American Airlines pilot.
When his daughter pursued a career in medicine through the district’s Carroll Medical Academy program, he noticed that some of her classmates were left in the cold since they aspired to be entrepreneurs instead, according to Community Impact.
Seeking to fill the gap with like-minded community members such as Danny Baltsalkin, a real estate broker, Midkiff got to work shaping an advanced high school academic program that could pave the way for future entrepreneurs.
As Midkiff and Baltsalkin conceive of it, CBA will foster business and entrepreneurial skills among students through a student-centric approach. For instance, student leaders will be elected to oversee various elements of CBA, such as governance, budgeting, legal matters, and event planning.
“It’s more than just a curriculum thing,” said Board President Cameron Bryan, according to Community Impact. “It really is a true immersion that you’re talking about and something that really is going to pay dividends for our kids.”
While student focus groups have yet to take place, those interested in the program are encouraged to register here and join Club CBA to hit the ground running.
Club CBA will launch by the end of 2023. The comprehensive CBA curriculum — dubbed CBA Fellows Tracks — is currently being developed.
While Midkiff and Baltsalkin approached Carroll ISD officials with the idea of CBA, the district curriculum department will ultimately manage and run the program.
“There are many steps involved to initiate such a program, and it is in the preliminary stage at this time,” an email from the district to parents said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “We would love to offer this opportunity to our students should we be able to move forward with this academy.”
Carroll ISD is one of the better-performing public school systems in Texas. According to its latest accountability report for the 2021-2022 school year, about 88% of Carroll ISD students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams, and its on-time graduation rate was 99.9%.
For comparison, only 41% of students at Dallas ISD scored at grade level on their STAAR exams that school year and nearly 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 earned a diploma in four years, despite the hard work of the district’s talented educators.