Achievements of the 2-year-old excel technology class at Tupelo Middle School received national recognition this week.

The Appalachian Regional Commission honored the class with an Appalachian Youth Entrepreneurship Education Springboard Award, which consists of a plaque and $2,000 for the class. "I'm beside myself," said instructor Jennifer Robison. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing that I'm never going to forget." Robison and her student Reed Loden, an eighth-grader who has played a major part in helping the class create a TMS Web page, will travel to Washington, D.C., March 17 and 18 courtesy of ARC to accept the award and attend a conference on entrepreneurship education. "I'm excited," Loden said. "I knew we entered but I didn't know if we'd be going or not." Principal Linda Clifton also plans to travel with Robison and Loden to the awards presentation. "Jennifer has done a tremendous job; this is an outstanding program for our school," said Clifton, who encouraged Robison to apply for the award. "This is a well-deserved recognition for Jennifer and the kids."

Students in the excel technology class work throughout the year on computer projects in and out of school. They conduct maintenance on computers at the middle school, train teachers how to use technological equipment and software and work with senior citizens at Traceway Retirement Community, teaching them how to send e-mail and search the Internet.

The class is currently creating a TMS Web site and individual Web sites, and steps students have taken so far to initiate projects truly exhibit their entrepreneurial abilities. "They had a calendar fund-raiser just before Christmas," Robison said. "They created personalized calendars using Microsoft Publisher and sold them for $10 each. They made about $1,200." Robison let the class decide how it wanted to use the money and was happy when they suggested hiring an employee from RedMagnet® to give them professional training on FrontPage, a Web page design program. "It was kind of an ego trip because these kids have such a desire to learn that they were willing to raise money to hire us," said Daron Pitts, Web developer for RedMagnet® who trained the class Thursday and Friday. Robison said the students enjoyed the training. "They have just been soaking it up like sponges," she said. "I've learned a lot more than I thought I would," said eighth-grader Laura Griffin, who spent hours before school collecting money and photos for the calendars. "I like it because you can make it however you want," said seventh-grader Preston Wiley, as he worked on his own Web page in the class Friday.

This project is just one example of how the students employ entrepreneurial education. "The whole program is basically entrepreneurship," Robison said. The curriculum designed by Robison for the class is used as a model throughout the state. "Middle and high school representatives from all over the state have visited us wanting to replicate our program," she said. TMS was recognized as a Top Ten Technological School in the United States in 2000 and the excel technology program has been showcased at the national Technology in Schools Expo in New York. "I have people who e-mail all the time from all over the country interested in starting an excel tech team in their schools," Robison said. "I didn't realize how different our class is."