District Administration - April 2008 - (Page 34)

CORPORATIONS & SCHOOL POLICIES Northwest Community Bank in Winsted, Conn. With a $72,000 state grant, the high school developed an honorslevel money, banking and business course and established a bank branch inside the school. Bank employees lecture in class, and the school branch is overseen by a bank employee but staﬀed by students. The students must undergo an interview and then spend 25 hours learning the ropes with a mentor in a regular bank branch. The bank branch in school is open from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and the 12 students enrolled take turns working. The student bankers open real accounts for students and faculty, accept deposits and make withdrawals—all of the routine bank activities. Several students also have after-school jobs at other branches. “This was a chance for kids who want to go to work and take business courses to earn honors credit,” says Kathy Deasy, the high school’s business educator. “And the bank loves it because they have a ready pool of employees.” The program was the brainchild of the late Superintendent Roberta Ohotnicky. She suggested the idea to bank executive John Ursone, who is now president, and the bank opened in April 2006. Such a large undertaking provides lessons for other partnerships, Deasy says. For example, a contract would be useful to ensure that the program would continue even when the people involved changed jobs. Bank employees also should receive training in working with students to avoid, for example, relationships that become too chummy. “We can’t anticipate every issue, so when we have a question or a concern we just communicate with the bank,” she says. “It’s worked out great that these kids have an employment opportunity at the bank.” What Makes Success? Research conducted by the Council for Corporate and School Partnerships found that many school-business partnerships fall apart or don’t provide much beneﬁt mainly because they have diﬀerent goals, poor planning, or a lack of buy-in from stakeholders, Engeln says. So for many dis- Guidelines for Effective Partnerships The Council for Corporate and School Partnerships has eight guiding principles, which fall into four categories, for eﬀective partnerships: THE FOUNDATION 1. Should be built on shared values and philosophies. 2. Should be deﬁned by mutually beneﬁcial goals and objectives. IMPLEMENTATION 3. Should have activities that are integrated into the school and business cultures. 4. Should be driven by a clear management process and structure. 5. Should deﬁne speciﬁc, measurable outcomes. CONTINUITY 6. Should have support at the highest level within the business and school. 7. Should include internal and external communications plans, which clearly illustrate expectations of all parties. EVALUATION 8. Should be developed with clear deﬁnitions of success for all partners. trict leaders, it’s important to understand what makes partnerships work eﬀectively for student beneﬁt. “You don’t sacriﬁce the mission and vision of your school for a corporate sponsorship,” says Engeln. Engeln was principal of William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs (Colo.) School District 11 in the mid1990s when half of the ninth-graders were failing, enrollment was declining, and teacher morale was at rock bottom after a three-year salary freeze. The district chose to sell advertising space on school buses and in school gymnasiums and hallways to raise money. The revenue allowed the district to buy books, lab equipment and other supplies it couldn’t otherwise have aﬀorded. While the advertising was controversial, within three years, the high RESOURCES The Council for Corporate and School Partnership www.corpschoolpartners.org ExxonMobil www.exxonmobil.com HP www.hp.com Houston A+ Challenge www.houstonaplus.org IBM www.ibm.com school had 110 business partners that generated $186,000. A domino eﬀect occurred, where teachers felt appreciated, as did students. “When kids felt the community cared about them, they started caring about the community and their grades,” Engeln says. “The number of kids on the honor roll almost doubled in ﬁve years.” And taxpayers responded by passing the ﬁrst bond issue in 27 years. “The school-business partnerships must ﬁt with the values and norms of your community,” Engeln says. “If you try to implement them without getting input from the stakeholders you’ll have a disaster on your hands.” Engeln travels the country helping schools and businesses understand how to make partnerships work and spreading the best practices identiﬁed by the Council for Corporate and School Partnerships, which oﬀers a how-to guide. “When you can get business involved to help students become better educated and to complete their education, that impacts the economy and that’s good for business,” Engeln says. “But you have to be careful about your business partners. You are not there to be at the whim of the business.” Leslie Werstein Hann is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. 34 April 2008 District Administration http://www.corpschoolpartners.org http://www.exxonmobil.com http://www.hp.com http://www.houstonaplus.org http://www.ibm.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - April 2008

District Administration - April 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Technology
Facilities & Construction
Curriculum
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Profit and Loss in School-Business Partnerships
The Broad Way
Big Macs for Big Grades
Hometown Success
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Speaking Out
Crisis Response
New Products
Problem/Solution
Computer Literature
Research Center
Calendar of Events
Products Showcase
Understanding the Times

District Administration - April 2008