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Biz Kidz Academy

2024 Biz Kidz Academy Competition & Scholarship Dinner

Congratulations to our Essay Competition Winners

About Biz Kidz Academy

Founded by Dr. Marlene Jackson and daughter, Ashley Cole, Biz Kidz Academy is a Christian-focused non-profit 501 (c) organization developed to creatively empower students (Ages 8-18). Biz Kidz Academy engages elementary, middle, and high school students in real-world business experiences, events and activities. Our mission is to inspire students to creatively embrace their entrepreneurial spirit, lead confidently, think critically, and be financially responsible. Our goal is to empower students with the creative guidance, resources, and tools required to be confident and self-assured decision makers.

Biz Kidz Academy is proud to announce the success of our 2024 essay competition for Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) students. In partnership with Pastor Andrew James, Senior Pastor of Columbia Baptist Fellowship, scholarships were awarded to HCPSS juniors and seniors to help sponsor their 2024 college tours. The students traveled to Atlanta Ga, Athens GA, and Tallahassee Fl. They also visited Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, Georgia Tech University, University of Georgia, Florida A&M University, and Florida State University.

A special thank you to our guest speaker, Willaim Barnes, Acting Superintendent of Howard County Public School System and moderator, Megan Knight, WMAR-TV News Anchor.

Thank you also goes to our panel of judges:

Gül Branco,
Director of Outreach, Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program

Lottie Byram,
Assistant Director of Community Programs, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
University of Maryland

Nima Farshchi,
Lecturer, Smith School of Business
University of Maryland

Eric Marshall,
Interim Program Director, Maryland Business Opportunity Center (MBOC)
University of Maryland

Biz Kidz Academy look forward to partnering with Howard County organizations to sponsor our 2025 essay competition, scholarships, and other events. For more information on how you can get involved, contact Dr. Marlene Jackson at bizkidz2017@gmail.com.

2024 Biz Kidz Academy Competition & Scholarship Dinner

2023 Frances Barber Scholarship
(For High School College-Bound Students)

Honoring the loving memory of an extraordinary mother and grandmother, Biz Kidz Academy will award its annual $500.00 Frances Barber Educational Scholarship to college-bound high school students.

Biz Kidz Workshop Series, Online Competition & Award Ceremony

Registration Form

Student's Name

Student's Age & Grade

Student's School Name and Address

Phone Number

Please describe your competition entry in detail

Indicate the name of your business

Describe your business product(s) or service(s) here

Indicate if you are interested in being a vendor exhibitor during the Oct. 21st; Award Ceremony. List the products and/or services you would like to sell during the event

Please indicate below if you would like more details about our workshops, competition, and/or being a vendor exhibitor during our 2023 award ceremony.

How did you hear about Biz Kidz Academy?

Upload your written or Video Competition Submission here

About our Workshop Series

Registration is now open for our 2024 Biz Kidz Academy Workshop Series. Our YEP sponsored workshops are jam packed with exciting activities, games, exercises, and mini-lessons developed to encourage kids and teens to turn their creative ideas into a money-making business, learn effective channels to cope with their insecurities and anxieties, and engage in computer games to build reading and math abilities.

In partnership with the Howard County Library System, our 2024 workshops include:

Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Fun with Social Skills
Computer Games, and Mentoring

Call the Howard County Library System at (410) 313-7800 for workshop locations, dates, and times.

Submission Guidelines

Kids and teens are encouraged to submit an original 500-word paper or 5 -10-minute engaging video presentation. The winners will be selected by a panel of judges. Competitors are judged on their ability to articulate and display clearly their written and oral communications skills. Participants may chose a familiar topic that inspires them. They are also required to explain why they deserve to be selected as a competition winner. CREATIVITY COUNTED! Young competitors may choose to submit one of the following:

500-Word Essay

Writing competitors are judged on their overall ability to
       clearly compose and express their ideas in written form.
       Participants are judged on their creative ability to:

Clearly introduce the topic.
Effectively write the main points.
Demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and
punctuation.
Clearly summarize the topic.
Adhere to the 500-word requirement

Other Biz Kidz Academy Programs

High School – College Transition Program
Biz Kidz Academy High School – College Transition Program is a business-building platform created to build partnerships with higher learning institutions. The objective of the program is to provide college-level entrepreneurs with an additional resource tool to utilize with existing college business resources. College students will participate in individual and team building entrepreneurial projects as they gain valuable real-world lifelong learning skills including, goal setting, problem solving. Visit our website for more information.

Biz Kidz In-Flight Initiative

Biz Kidz Academy is excited to announce our expansion into Atlanta and Canada. We offer aspiring young entrepreneurs and innovative students an opportunity to launch and grow their business and creative ideas. We look forwarded to expanding into other regions around the world.

Atlanta Chapter

A special thank you to Tracy Lewis and Dena Patrice for coordinating the Biz Kidz Atlanta Chapter. In partnership with Atlanta’s Recreation and Parks and Futon Library Systems, a workshop series was offered to kidpreneurs throughout Atlanta. A special thank you to Tracy Lewis and Dena Patrice for coordinating the Biz Kidz Atlanta Chapter.

Canada Chapter

In conjunction with The Niagara Falls Public Library, Biz Kidz Academy sponsored a one-day on Saturday, May 18, 2019. During the series, kids and teens developed vision boards, business plans, marketing brands, websites, and business budgets. A special award ceremony was celebrated as Niagara Falls Mayor Diodati presented Canada’s Biz Kidz with a Workshop Certificate of Completion.

Call For Sponsors

Our dream is to raise enough capital to provide students laptops and scholarships year round. We’re reaching out to sponsors to help us to raise enough capital to continue to provide financial support to students who seek higher education.

Please contact Dr. Marlene Jackson at bizkidz2017@gmail.com to discover how you can become a partner and help us raise donations to empower our creative students nationwide.