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Boss Kid Build · Standards Alignment
Illinois Standards Alignment
How the Boss Kid Build 8-Kit Series maps to Illinois's CTE entrepreneurship standards.
Boss Kid Build is a pre-secondary, CTE-adjacent digital entrepreneurship curriculum for learners ages 8–12 (grades 3–6). It builds the vocabulary, mindsets, and habits students need to succeed in high school Career & Technical Education. Every kit develops competencies that align with the entrepreneurship instruction delivered through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) CTE programs.
Illinois delivers business CTE through the Finance & Business Services area, spanning the Marketing, Finance, and Business Management & Administration clusters. Illinois uses its Business, Marketing, and Computer Education Content Standards and ISBE model Programs of Study, and offers a dedicated Entrepreneurship course. This document maps each Boss Kid Build kit to those standards.
Where Entrepreneurship Lives in Illinois
Finance & Business Services (FBS): The ISBE program area comprising the Marketing, Finance, and Business Management & Administration clusters.
Entrepreneurship Course: A dedicated course covering economics, marketing principles, business/financial planning, finance, and the rights and responsibilities of ownership.
Business, Marketing & Computer Education Content Standards: The ISBE content standards that define what students learn; Illinois is adopting the modernized National Career Clusters Framework.
Programs of Study & CTSOs: ISBE model Programs of Study guide course sequences; DECA, FBLA, and BPA are the aligned CTSOs.
Kit-by-Kit Alignment
Each kit maps to the Illinois course, cluster, or standard it most directly prepares students for. Boss Kid Build is pre-secondary and functions as a CTE on-ramp, not a replacement for Illinois's approved courses.
| Boss Kid Build Kit |
Illinois Cluster / Course |
Aligned Standards Focus |
|
Kit 1 — Find Your Big Idea
Stage 1: Discover
|
Business Management & Administration; Entrepreneurship |
Forms of business ownership and entrepreneurship; opportunity recognition |
|
Kit 2 — Know Your Customer
Stage 1: Discover
|
Marketing |
Market research; identify customers; marketing principles |
|
Kit 3 — Build Your Brand
Stage 2: Build
|
Marketing |
Branding and promotion |
|
Kit 4 — Make Your Product or Service
Stage 2: Build
|
Business Management; Entrepreneurship |
Product/service; business operations |
|
Kit 5 — Set Your Price
Stage 3: Launch
|
Entrepreneurship; Finance |
Pricing; economics; business and financial planning |
|
Kit 6 — Spread the Word
Stage 3: Launch
|
Marketing |
Promotion and marketing communications |
|
Kit 7 — Make the Sale
Stage 4: Grow
|
Marketing |
Selling and customer relations |
|
Kit 8 — Lead & Level Up
Stage 4: Grow
|
Entrepreneurship; Business Management |
Business plan and management; leadership (DECA/FBLA) |
A Note on Alignment Level
Boss Kid Build introduces these standards at an age-appropriate, awareness-and-application level for ages 8–12. Illinois's secondary courses carry them to mastery. The alignment reflects prerequisite readiness — the concepts and habits that let students arrive in Illinois's Entrepreneurship course already fluent in the language of business.
References the ISBE Finance & Business Services area and the Illinois Business, Marketing & Computer Education Content Standards. Standards are subject to revision; verify current frameworks at isbe.net.
