CEO program brings real-world business training to Des Moines County schools

DES MOINES COUNTY, Iowa — A hands-on entrepreneurship program is about to take off in Des Moines County schools. 

The Des Moines County CEO Program will launch in the fall of 2026. Think of it like a business class, but not at all in a traditional classroom setting. 

The CEO Program, which stands for Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities, is open to high school juniors and seniors. Every day, students will get out of the school building and into local businesses, learning how things are operated from local leaders. In fact, they won’t ever meet in a classroom. 

This will be open to students in all five of the counties high schools: Burlington, Mediapolis, West Burlington, Danville and Burlington Notre Dame. 

“It is just an incredible opportunity for our young students,” said Telisha Van Rycke, regional director of workforce innovation with the Greater Burlington Partnership and the Lee County Economic Development Group. “It’s so exciting for Southeast Iowa and a major step in workforce development for our small rural area.”

Des Moines County is the second county in Iowa to adopt the program, following Lee County, which has already completed multiple years of CEO programming. The model is also well established in Illinois, where it began in 2008 in Effingham and has since expanded to many counties statewide.

Unlike traditional business classes, CEO students meet every school day for 90 minutes at local businesses rather than in a classroom. Throughout the year, students tour manufacturers, banks, small businesses and service providers while learning directly from local entrepreneurs and community leaders.

“These kids get to experience hands-on entrepreneurship and they get to learn from business mentors and learn how to develop a business plan,” Van Rycke said. “They have a pitch day. They even have a bank loan day, and then they end the whole school year with a trade show where they get to sell their goods and products and services to the entire community.”

The program emphasizes 21st-century learning skills such as communication, problem-solving and leadership. Each student is required to start their own business and is paired with a mentor from the local business community. CEO classes also host more than 40 guest speakers and visit more than 40 area businesses during the school year.

Van Rycke said the long-term goal is to strengthen the local workforce by encouraging students to build careers in Southeast Iowa.

“I really hope that it develops a long-term talent pipeline of leaders and retains talent in Southeast Iowa, and especially in the Greater Burlington area,” she said.

Students are selected through a blind application process, with applications identified only by number and evaluated based on written essays. Reviewers do not know a student’s school, background or socioeconomic status.

“They’re basically chosen based on their essay. Why do they want to be in CEO and why do they want to take such a business class and get hands-on experience from business mentors in the community?” Van Rycke said.

Enrollment is capped at about 20 students per year, which is typical for CEO programs nationwide. The course provides two high school credits and is funded entirely by business investors rather than school districts.

Van Rycke said securing buy-in from the local business community was essential, but not difficult.

“Once you just tell them who it’s for and what it’s about and that they get to make a direct impact on these young people’s lives and mentor them into the next leaders, the next generation of our future workforce here, they were happy to do it,” she said.

In addition to classroom credit, students gain extensive networking opportunities. Van Rycke said participants often make between 40 and 100 professional connections over the course of the year, which can lead to internships, future employment or business partnerships.

As the program prepares to launch this fall, organizers are still seeking program facilitators to lead the class and coordinate learning opportunities with local businesses.

“We’re looking for someone who’s going to lead these young people and help create learning opportunities for them so that they can fail and learn and succeed by the end of the school year,” Van Rycke said.

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