Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools
How a public school district used Dream Chaser Kids to bridge academic learning with entrepreneurial mindset — achieving a 78% increase in student agency and future-oriented thinking.
pathways &
agency thinking
The challenge: connecting academic achievement to real-world agency
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving more than 140,000 students. Despite strong academic programming, leaders at Northridge Middle School and Reedy Creek Elementary identified a persistent gap: students who performed well academically often struggled to connect their strengths to a sense of future direction and personal agency.
The question wasn't whether students could learn — it was whether they could see themselves as builders of something meaningful. Dream Chaser Kids was introduced as a structured pathway to answer that question inside existing school settings.
A 12-week cohort inside existing school rhythms
The program ran as a focused 12-week cohort across two CMS schools, serving 35 students in grades 4–8. Facilitators used the Dream Chaser Kids model without requiring curriculum overhaul — it plugged into existing advisory periods and elective blocks.
78% increase in pathways and agency thinking
Pre and post assessments using the Children's Hope Scale — a validated instrument measuring students' sense of agency and pathways thinking — showed a 78% average increase across the cohort. This is the primary quantitative finding from the CMS deployment.
A model that fits — without rebuilding what's already working
One of the strongest signals from the CMS deployment was structural: the program required no curriculum overhaul, no new hires, and no technology platform beyond what students already used in school. Facilitators ran the program using the Dream Chaser facilitator kit — slides, scripts, digital tools, and print materials — without requiring Leslie or any external trainer to be on-site.
The district now has a documented model for deploying Dream Chaser in any school with an advisory period, an elective block, or an after-school program. The per-student cost at the 12-week scale sits at $43–$54 — well below comparable STEM enrichment or youth development programs at the district level.
"This learning experience truly delivers what it promises and provides students with the tools necessary to become entrepreneurs."
