GlassRoots Business & Entrepreneurship Program

Various

Business & Entrepreneurship is taught weekly at GlassRoots -- a glass art studio with a Flame Shop, Flat Shop and Hot Shop.

GlassRoots has served thousands of at-risk youth since 2001.

Students learn business and college and career readiness skills by designing a glass art business (ala "Shark Tank").

Working in three art studios, Flame Shop (working with a torch making glass beads), Flat Glass Shop, (making mosaics and kilnformed glass) and in the Hot Shop (learning glassblowing).

The GlassRoots business program is dedicated to nurturing and
guiding the entrepreneurial spirit by teaching an academic-year
long course on what it takes to create and maintain a business.
GlassRoots' mission is to provide programs that inspire young
people to stay in school, to fi nd their passion, to recognize business
opportunities and to plan for successful futures. Students come
from various backgrounds and schools in the greater Newark area
to begin their journey as an entrepreneur. Participants receive approximately
30 hours of in-class instruction in basic business concepts
as well as 45 hours of glassmaking instruction in GlassRoots'
three studios. Upon completion of the program, participants
compete for prizes in the Annual GlassRoots B&E Competition and
Trade Fair. To demonstrate comprehension of basic business skills
students present and defend a PowerPoint presentation of their
business plan to a panel of judges composed of local business, art
and civic leaders. (B&E class is Wednesdays, 4pm to 5pm, 1 hour
per week, followed by 1.5 hrs of Studio Art time).