Summary: Providence Day School hired Jenny Pieratt to design and launch a first-of-its-kind Diploma in Entrepreneurial Studies from the ground up — on an extremely aggressive timeline. Jenny served as the sole designer and project lead, building the entire program infrastructure including vision documents, diploma requirements, student competency frameworks, personalized pathway maps, branding, and a full suite of marketing and communications materials. She also facilitated stakeholder engagement across students, families, faculty, alumni, and community partners, and built a network of internship and mentorship opportunities to support real-world learning. The result was a nationally distinctive, fully launch-ready entrepreneurship diploma that positioned Providence Day School as an innovator in K-12 education.

Case Study

Client: Providence Day School, Charlotte, North Carolina (TK-12)
Project: Diploma in Entrepreneurial Studies (DES / IDEAS Pathway)
Date: 2025

The Challenge

Providence Day School received a major endowment gift to create a pioneering Diploma in Entrepreneurial Studies; one of the first dedicated entrepreneurship diplomas in the nation for a K-12 independent school. Leadership faced an extremely ambitious timeline: design, brand, align, and prepare to launch a comprehensive, high-quality program almost immediately. The diploma needed to integrate design thinking, business fundamentals, real-world experience, and existing IDEAS@PDS programming while engaging students, families, faculty, alumni, and community partners.

The Solution

Jenny Pieratt was hired to lead the full development and rapid launch of the Diploma in Entrepreneurial Studies. Working at an accelerated pace, she served as the primary designer, facilitator, and project lead, delivering a complete, ready-to-launch program.

Implementation Highlights

Jenny created the entire program infrastructure from scratch, including:

  • Vision, Mission, Purpose, and Goals documents
  • Diploma requirements (coursework + co-curricular experiences, including internships and capstones)
  • Student competencies framework and aligned assessment tools
  • Personalized pathway maps and visual student journey examples (I-D-E-A-S progression)
  • Course crosswalks and integration plans with existing departments and summer programming
  • Launch timeline with phased implementation (Planning → Launch → Full Rollout)
  • Branding elements, logo concepts, and graphics
  • Full collateral suite: flyers, one-pagers, car-rider handouts, media scripts, and marketing materials
  • Messaging framework with audience-specific talking points for students, parents, faculty, alumni, donors, and higher education partners

In parallel, she:

  • Facilitated community input and stakeholder communications
  • Built student interest through entrepreneurship courses, lunchtime makerspace sessions, guest speakers, and field experiences
  • Held information sessions and developed registration pathways
  • Established a community network for future internships and mentorships (alumni, parents, and local business partners)

The Results

In record time, Providence Day School successfully designed and positioned a nationally distinctive Diploma in Entrepreneurial Studies. The program features clear academic requirements, co-curricular experiences, personalized pathways, and a robust ecosystem of real-world learning opportunities. Strong internal alignment, professional branding, and high student excitement were achieved ahead of the aggressive launch schedule.

The diploma strengthens PDS’s reputation as an innovator in K-12 education and equips students with the mindsets, skills, and experiences needed to launch ventures, solve real problems, and thrive in college and beyond.

This high-stakes, fast-tracked engagement highlights Jenny’s expertise in rapidly designing visionary, fully articulated programs that blend academic rigor, branding, stakeholder engagement, and real-world impact.

Ready to strengthen PBL at your school?

Contact Jenny at jenny@craftedcurriculum.com to explore a custom PBL calibration workshop, summer planning support, or ongoing coaching package.

About the Author: Jenny

PBL Thought Leader, AI & PBL Pedagogical Architect, Published Author & Speaker, Custom curriculum designer, Founder of CraftED Curriculum. Check out my book!