Students from Blue Springs School District High Schools took on Real World Learning challenges while partnering with local business during the Fourth Annual Out of the Blue Business Challenge, a Real World Learning community partnership funded by a Blue Springs Education Foundation grant.
Out of the Blue pairs students from Blue Springs High School, Blue Springs South High School, and Valley View High School with local mentors to solve real challenges facing local businesses.
This year, the business challenges were provided by the Blue Springs Fieldhouse and the KC Curling Club. The Fieldhouse challenged students to create a marketing plan for its new water park opening in 2024 while the Curling Club was looking to grow their membership as a first-year Blue Springs business.
Student teams met with their mentors and with a group of industry experts to plan solutions to the challenges. Teams then presented their ideas as Fieldhouse and KC Curling Club representatives judged each response and scored the efforts on a variety of factors.
Out of the Blue is based on the Real World Learning strategy of The Kauffman Foundation.
Blue Springs High School junior Sebastian Udland said he learned a great deal from the experience, he and another student even received an offer for a possible internship with KC Curling Club.
Being able to work with people that you won’t normally talk to is a huge skill that the Out of the Blue Business Challenge offers,” he said. “I enjoyed not only my mentor (Michael Scott) but other teams’ mentors that were very communicative and competitive to us.
Being able to be put into a situation where the KC Curling Club could use our business model and marketing plan is very exciting. Knowing I could possibly influence a business’s success is very thrilling for me personally.”