Westfield High School to Host Innovation Competition

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More than 160 students at Westfield High School will have the chance to compete for $10,000 to start their own company. 

John Moore, an Entrepreneurship Teacher at Westfield High School, says 163 students from 81 teams are preparing to compete to earn seed money to start their own business. The innovation competition is part of the entrepreneurship pathway offered at Westfield High. 

Moore says the Principles of Entrepreneurship course comprises several levels and helps guide students through the basics of becoming a small business owner. He says the course helps students learn how entrepreneurs become successful. He wants the students to get out of the mindset of complaining and turn problems into opportunities. “We want to be difference makers.”

During the course, Moore says students learn to celebrate their failures and embrace the idea of continuous improvement. He says he wants students to learn from mistakes and fix them. 

Students in the course also learn how to start a new venture, conduct market research, evaluate whether a business or service idea is viable, and create a product. Moore says the final course focuses on business operations. Students in the program help run the student spirit store on campus. 

Moore, who’s been teaching for five years, says he started teaching after a career in sales and consulting. His background gives him a strong foundation for teaching business principles to students.