WCS, FSD Celebrate Student Entrepreneurs at 2026 State of the Schools Address

Williamson County Schools and Franklin Special Schools District highlighted and celebrated student innovation and entrepreneurship at Williamson Inc.’s 2026 State of the Schools event, as students get hands-on in WCS’s new Innovation Center.

This year’s event took place at WCS’s Innovation Center, which opened in August, and focused on the successes of both Williamson County Schools and Franklin Special District students who have built their own products, companies and brands.

“We love fostering entrepreneurship, and it's a great pathway as students come move in, transition into Williamson County Schools. We introduce that in grades five through eight with startup opportunities for business, and they're building critical real-world skills. Also, each year, enterprising students from multiple FSD schools successfully advanced to a national convention,” FSD Director of Schools David Snowden said.

Snowden recognized Poplar Grove Middle School 8th grader Max Perkins who in May advanced to the national semifinal round of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge with his plant watering device, The Smart Pot.

“Our leadership shows how innovation really translates in the relevance of our students-based efforts,” Williamson Inc. president and CEO Matt Largen said. “We know how to drive our economy. Again, we talked about that for years, and I think what's important to remember, though, is what makes our community special is how we rally around our schools to be great, to support, and cherish, and that's what today is about, celebrating students that are really going to lead this topic into the next several decades.”

Prior to the remarks, students lead guests on guided tours of the Innovation Center, highlighting student’s hands-on educational opportunities with aerospace fight simulators, culinary arts, fire service, a machine shop and much more.

“Between Franklin Special and Williamson County Schools, we're working to ensure that we’re creating problem solvers, innovative thinkers, and [that] they're thinking creatively, they're working collaboratively together, they're learning how to communicate in front of crowds,” WCS Interim Superintendent Leigh Webb said.

“...We want to make sure that we have multiple pathways for them [students], that there's multiple exit routes, and that they're all experiencing the same job readiness and the skills that they need to be successful at all walks of life, regardless of what they're thinking now.”

Webb has led the district since the surprise resignation of former superintendent Jason Golden, who has since started a job with FSD.

Webb highlighted several WCS student entrepreneurs, including the HTSA Bros, lead by co-founders Nathan Ragheb and Iker “Max” Rodriguez-Rincon, whose younger brother died from Heterotaxy Syndrome at the age of six.

Last year, the high school students launched an effort to spread awareness of and raise money for research related to a rare birth defect that impacts the organs, including a social media campaign and 5K run.