JERSEYVILLE — Jersey County Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities will join a network of 51 communities nationwide that have partnered with Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship to bring the entrepreneurial program, known as CEO, to the community.

The program will be open to Jersey Community High School students in the 2019-20 school year. It creates a learning environment for high school students through interactive real-life learning in businesses throughout the community. Students who enroll will write their own business plans and start their own businesses, all with mentoring and support from the business owners.

Business leaders and school administrators partnered with the Jersey County Business Association and the Community 100 Foundation over the past year to launch the CEO program. Once the program was established, it was handed over to the CEO Advisory Board, which now oversees its operation. This board is led by chairman Christopher Simon, who is president of the Bank of Calhoun.

The initial $25,000 fee to implement the program was made possible by a number of inaugural investors and 35 to 50 additional community investors will be needed to continue the program in the years ahead.