Highland Park Senior High: Preparing Students for the Future with BestPrep 

Publish on October 22, 2025 Categories -

Highland Park Senior High School has been an engaged and enthusiastic partner of BestPrep since 2002, giving students meaningful opportunities to build real-world skills and explore their futures. Through this long-standing partnership, Highland Park has become a model for how schools can integrate career and college readiness into the classroom in engaging and impactful ways.

One of the school’s key areas of involvement is through Financial Matters and Classroom Plus, where guest speakers visit classrooms to cover essential life skills such as credit, budgeting, paying for college, taxes, resume building, and leadership. These sessions bring learning to life, connecting coursework to practical, everyday knowledge. As part of Classroom Plus, students also participate in mock interviews, giving them valuable one-on-one practice in presenting themselves professionally and building confidence for the workforce.

[Student and Classroom Plus volunteer during Mock Interviews.]

Highland Park also encourages students to take their learning further outside the classroom. Many have attended Minnesota Business Venture (MBV), BestPrep’s immersive summer program where students live on a college campus, form companies, and collaborate with business leaders to develop entrepreneurial skills and personal growth.

To support financial literacy, the school has incorporated The Stock Market Game™ into its curriculum. This interactive simulation allows students to invest virtual money in real-time markets, helping them learn about investing, teamwork, and economic decision-making in a fun, competitive environment.

Mentorship is another major pillar of Highland Park’s involvement. Through the eMentors program, students are paired with professionals from companies like Securian Financial, Travelers, Scoular, and UnitedHealth Group. Over the course of eight weeks, students exchange emails with their mentors and end the experience with a meaningful in-person visit to their mentor’s workplace — building career awareness and professional relationships.

[Students and their mentor at the Cloud Summit.]

Expanding on this model, Highland Park introduced Cloud Coach, which takes mentoring schoolwide by engaging the entire 9th-grade class. With support from corporate partners like Accenture, U.S. Bank, and Best Buy, students gain encouragement, guidance, and insight from professionals across Minnesota’s top companies.

Rashmi Vashisht, Assistant Principal at Highland Park Senior High, shares, “The Cloud Coach program has had a meaningful impact on students by providing guidance, encouragement, and real-world exposure. Many students have reported feeling more motivated to perform well in school and to start planning for their futures. As per the teachers, this program has helped students practice communication skills and networking which is so important in today’s world. This program is truly an enhancement to students’ educational experience.”

BestPrep is proud to recognize Highland Park Senior High School’s commitment to helping students build brighter, more prepared futures.