Free summer program for rising 6th–8th graders

Build confidence your child can use now

The Dream Academy provides structured real-world practice in speaking up, solving problems, and making smart money decisions through a team business project. Coaches support the process. Students do the work.

FREE

Three weeks

Rising 6th–8th graders

July 13–31, 2026

Triangle area, NC

Location: Baptist Grove Church, 7109 Leesville Rd, Raleigh, NC 27613

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Why this matters

Middle school starts asking students to speak up, make decisions, and handle more on their own. Many do not get enough chances to practice those skills in ways that feel real.

The Dream Academy provides that kind of practice. Through a team business project, students make choices, work through challenges, and learn by doing.

What students actually do

Students work in teams to take on a pop-up business challenge by developing approaches, making decisions together, carrying out a plan, and looking back on what worked and what needed to change.

Develop approaches

Students explore different ways to respond to a pop-up business challenge and shape a plan together.

Make their case

Students explain their thinking to one another and weigh tradeoffs as they make decisions together.

Commit to a plan

Students decide what to do, divide responsibilities, and move forward together.

Carry it out

Students put the plan into action and deal with real-time changes as they come up.

Look back and learn

Students reflect on what worked, what did not, and what they would change next time.

What this strengthens

The three skills students build through practice

The pop-up business is the tool. The program is designed to strengthen three core skills students need to speak up, solve problems, and make decisions with confidence.

1

Make your case — Students explain their thinking, listen to other points of view, and defend their ideas when the team needs to decide what to do.

2

Solve real problems — Students work through uncertainty, adjust when something changes, and stay engaged when there is no obvious answer.

3

Make smart money decisions — Students learn how pricing, costs, and tradeoffs shape what a business can actually do.

Together, these foundational skills strengthen confidence, so students are ready to tackle new challenges.

How it works

How NFTE BizCamp works

The Dream Academy is partnering with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to offer NFTE BizCamp, a program where middle schoolers tackle a business challenge.

NFTE works with partners to offer an entrepreneurial curriculum that equips students with real-world experience, practical skills, and structured learning that supports decision-making and problem solving. The Dream Academy runs the local program using this framework.

Coaches support the process. Students do the work.

The program moves through a clear arc: students plan it, run it, and share what they learned.

Students start by using simple planning tools to map out a business idea and get introduced to the money concepts that shape their decisions. Then they work with teammates to make choices, solve problems, and carry out the pop-up business. After, they explain what they did, look at what worked, and reflect on what they would change next time through presentations.

The goal is to learn through real work, real decisions, and real adjustment.

Why families can trust this program

Yes. Dream Academy is built to give families a real, well-supported summer experience.

Dream Academy is the signature program of Pleasant Grove Foundation, a Cary, North Carolina-based nonprofit organization that has served hundreds of students for nearly 15 years. This summer's program uses the proven NFTE BizCamp approach and is led by trained instructors and coaches who know how to guide middle school students through real learning with structure, support, and care.

Backed by a nonprofit. Built on a proven model. Led by trained adults.

NFTE BizCamp at The Dream Academy

Program Details

Who is it for:

Rising 6th–8th graders

Dates:

July 13–31, 2026

Cost:

Free

Region:

Triangle area, NC

Location:

Baptist Grove Church, 7109 Leesville Rd, Raleigh, NC 27613

Daily hours:

9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Registration deadline:

June 30

FAQS

Questions Parents May Have

Our active, structured, and coach-supported program allows students of all types to find success. Whether they are shy, bold, curious, or reserved, we create an environment where students feel safe to try new things and discover their strengths.

No. The pop-up business is the tool students use to practice foundational skills. The program provides the planning tools, money concepts, and resources they will use along the way.

Students spend the morning engaged in lessons that guide the journey, then work with their teams and coaches on their projects in the afternoon.

The Dream Academy is partnering with NFTE to offer NFTE BizCamp. The Dream Academy runs the local experience using the NFTE BizCamp framework.

Coaches support the process. Students do the work.

Our team will follow up to confirm enrollment, then provide more details and request additional information about your student(s).