Business Leaders Connect with HS Students in '20-'21 School Year

Imagine studying the life and death decisions that were made by the leaders of the 1996 Mount Everest climb that resulted in 15 deaths as outlined in a Case Study published by Harvard Business Publishing. And, imagine that Case discussion led by Harvard MBA and Chicago businessman William Lear who also climbed Everest.

This was one of five Cases tackled by four hundred high school students from fourteen different classes at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago in the 2020-2021 school year. The program is called Cases in the Classroom and it is run by Mentoring Mission non-profit to bring business leaders into the classroom.

Students have the chance to put themselves in the shoes of company CEOs who contend with real-life business dilemmas that were described in Case Studies published by Harvard Business Publishing. Prior to this program, these Case Studies were only studied at the college and graduate school level.

The key positives of the Cases in the Classroom program for high school students are that volunteer MBAs – primarily from Harvard – lead the students through the final analysis of each Case, utilizing the Socratic method of questioning. And, representatives from the companies being studied – including CEOs - join in the discussion toward the end of class.

“These professional mentors have a lasting impact on students’ future life aspirations and achievements,” said Carol Valentino-Barry, freelance educator and founder of Mentoring Mission in 2018. She conceived and organized Cases in the Classroom for high school students along with airline executive and Harvard MBA Charles Duncan in 2012 when she was on staff at a suburban Chicago high school. That year Duncan was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40.

“The Cases in the Classroom program can help dispel the disconnect students often feel between school and real world decisions that are being made each day; instead, this exposure can flick on the proverbial lightbulb by which they can see a clear path forward,” Valentino-Barry said.

The 2020-21 school year’s mentors who led the discussions of the Cases at Whitney Young included Harvard MBAs Zach Addy, Kayin Barclay, Ann Carter, Jennifer Watkins Christensen, William Lear, Rena Henderson Mason, Dr. Steven C. Michael, Jen Wu; Northwestern MBA Jo Thomas and University of Redlands MBA Candice Ricketts.

The Case Studies used last school year included:

• Patagonia’s Sustainability Strategy: Don’t Buy Our Products (Vincent Stanley, Andrew Fletcher and Sarah Swindler from Patagonia joined the discussion)
• Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters (Founder/CEO Robbie Peck joined the discussion)
• Mount Everest 1996 – led by Harvard MBA and climber William Lear
• Farming: Dealing with Drought – led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Professor Steven Michael (he has now joined University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• S’well: The Mass Market Decision (Founder/CEO Sarah Kauss joined the discussion)

Case selection advisors included Harvard MBA Jen Wu, Dr. Jan Rivkin of Harvard Business School and Dr. Steve Michael, formerly of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and now with University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Harvard Professor Alexander MacKay, Commonwealth Joe Case author, lead a train-the-trainers case review and even sat in on a class. He was impressed with what he observed: “The students at Whitney Young were incredibly on point with their analysis of the (Commonwealth Joe) case and their suggestions for the company. I have high hopes for their futures as leaders and problem solvers.”

Mentoring Mission’s Carol Valentino-Barry, who has taught high school business classes in the past, wanted to inspire students to consider the many possibilities for life after high school. She saw a gap for students between school and the real world.

Valentino-Barry’s wake-up call was seeing the "Lasting Impact Study - A Business Leader's Playbook for Supporting American Schools" by the Gates Foundation, The Boston Consulting Group and Harvard Business School (part of Harvard Business School's Competitiveness Project).

Two thousand school Superintendents and business and industry CEOs agreed: "We have no shared reality." The time had come for American business leaders to work with the nation's educators to support our schools which would also improve the future economy of the country.

Mentoring Mission was Valentino-Barry's answer to that call. She wanted to expand the Cases in the Classroom program and create other opportunities to form partnerships between business and schools.

For the last three years, Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago has participated in Cases in the Classroom. This last semester, McNair High School in Jersey City, NJ, also participated in the program.

This is what two of the Whitney Young teachers had to say about Cases in the Classroom:

“My students were able to engage with individuals from Patagonia Corporate and Harvard Business School. My students finished this experience with a better understanding of the case study method, an appreciation for sustainability, more creative problem solvers and energized as thinkers."

Anne-Michele Boyle, MBA, MEd, Global Citizenship Teacher

"I loved doing the case study with my students! It was seemingly simple, but when we started to ask more thought-provoking questions, the kids really became engaged and more and more intrigued! I really look forward to doing this again with my classes! "

Todd Katz, MA, AP Environmental Science and Honors Biology Teacher

To Get Involved:

Valentino-Barry invites participation in Cases in the Classroom from companies who would like to sponsor a Case, MBAs who would like to present a Case and high schools who would like to participate. Visit the Contact Us page at www.mentoringmission.org.

There is more information at the website about Mentoring Mission’s Cases in the Classroom and the Lasting Impact Study by Harvard that is referenced above.

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