BusinessTN

The 63 sixth grade students currently enrolled at the Memphis Business Academy (MBA), a one-year-old charter school, reside predominantly in the 38127 zip code, where bankruptcy rates, predatory lending practices and home foreclosures set record highs in Shelby County. There are few places in Tennessee where a student curriculum geared toward financial literacy and business entrepreneurship has the potential for such life-altering impact. Charter schools—alternative public schools granted some freedom from traditional local oversight—while still heavily restricted by Tennessee legislation, nevertheless provide much needed choice to Tennessee students failing under normal protocols. MBA principal Anthony Anderson, pastor of the Faith United Methodist Church, along with Celia Rousseau, an assistant professor at the University of Memphis’ College of Education, wrote MBA’s charter. They envisioned a school that would provide not just a higher quality fundamental education but also one that taught entrepreneurship, financial decision-making and free-market economics.

“We want to teach our kids how to think in ways that for them are outside the box,” Anderson says. “Business is the catalyst in any city or county. For these kids to understand what turns business is important.”

MBA’s student population, expected to rise to around 180 within two years, is 99% African American. Three-quarters qualify for free or reduced lunch rates. According to Anderson, MBA’s student body reflects the crisis in America’s inner cities of students underexposed to business as a career path, which has perpetuated a lack of wealth-building in the African-American community.

How does Anderson infuse traditional middle school topics with a business twist? MBA students recently took a series of trips to Beale Street businesses to visit shop owners and learn about running a business. During the November elections, MBA teachers taught basic civics but also instructed students about campaign finance and understanding what Anderson calls “the percentages of politics.” A group of 15 Nike executives recently spent a day at MBA talking about corporate culture and the importance of sound bookkeeping skills. Later this year, Anderson is hoping to take his students to New York City to visit Wall Street and study the Stock Exchange.

“It starts with basic personal financial responsibility like balancing a checkbook,” Anderson says. “Hopefully, we’ll develop some entrepreneurs out of this.” All of Tennessee stands to benefit.