Lawrence High School juniors Spencer Renfro, from left, Tim Thompson and Angel Paramore, along with sophomore Marisa Chavez, sell candy-grams Friday at the school. The four students are in Jason Crawford’s Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas class, which is offered in several school districts across the state.

Brett Henderson, a Lawrence High School senior, doesn’t plan to wait long before his start in the business world.

“I plan on being an entrepreneur when I graduate,” Henderson said.

Thanks to a longtime program in Kansas high schools, including LHS, Henderson and 16 of his classmates get hands-on experience with business fundamentals through the Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas program.

YEK is a nonprofit established in 1991 by the Charles G. Koch Foundation in Wichita. In January, YEK leaders announced a partnership called Pipeline to Pipeline that will do more to connect high school students with participants in the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.’s Pipeline program. KTEC Pipeline is a state-sponsored fellowship program designed to help train technology entrepreneurs with much potential.

Kylie Stupka, YEK’s executive director, said the partnership is important especially during an economic recession. “The people who are going to get us out of this mess are the small business owners and entrepreneurs who are going to go out there and create jobs,” she said.

YEK has become popular in LHS in eight years. It’s also offered in 22 other Kansas high schools. LHS business teacher Jason Crawford, who leads the YEK class here, said school leaders try to target the at-risk students or those who might not be headed to college.

By the end of the year, the students develop a business plan. They also learn skills like marketing, accounting and other essential business practices.

The LHS class also often has Lawrence business leaders judge the students’ business plans, and students work with mentors at Kansas University. Crawford said the Pipeline to Pipeline initiative can only make YEK stronger.

“The opportunities go beyond just what we can do in the classroom,” Crawford said.

Henderson, the LHS senior, says he is still considering his college choices, but he is already working in the startup stages of a business with his mother, Melanie Griffin, to help parents with awareness about autism.

Henderson, who has received a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, has been an advocate for special education students at school, including through the Bullies to Buddies program and working on his business plan in Crawford’s class. He also has his heart in small business and enjoys working with mentors at KU.

“It’s amazing the contacts these kids make,” Crawford said.