K-12, higher ed partnerships must be strategic

Like many urban districts, New York’s Buffalo Public Schools have dealt with budget shortfalls before. The way the district has managed to bridge those shortfalls, two speakers said, is by creating strategic partnerships for students from preK through college.

“Gone are the days of casual dalliances with college and business partners resulting in endless luncheons, photo opportunities, and flexible pots of money,” said Mara Huber, special assistant to the president for educational initiatives at the University at Buffalo’s Center for Educational Collaboration (CEC). “In their place loom long-term commitments, shared accountability, and very real resources tied to partnership outcomes.”

Huber and Buffalo Superintendent James Williams offered conference-goers tips for creating strategic preK-16 partnerships during a session on Monday.

In December 2006, Williams and University of Buffalo President John B. Simpson entered into an institutional partnership and pledged to increase the number of Buffalo students ready for and interested in college.

The CEC mobilizes university resources around the district’s needs, coordinates connections between UB’s intellectual and professional resources and local schools, and organizes outreach efforts in a way that is both strategic and aligned with district needs.

The preK-16 movement, which calls for a seamless pipeline between public and secondary education, has resulted in efforts throughout the country to formalize partnerships, create PreK-16 councils and advisory boards, and develop initiatives that strengthen connections among educational systems.

Many states have officially integrated their offices of education in the belief that housing preK-12 and higher education together under a single structure will result in enhanced articulation and alignment of programs, Huber said. Some states have even called for the development of partnership zones or councils that include mandated membership from key constituencies and enjoy budgetary oversight of moneys targeted to specific educational entities.

“Instead of thinking of partnerships as objects to be collected and displayed, we need to view them as means to very real and important ends,” Huber said. “By giving these goals clarity and definition, we will be able to identify the best partners with whom to engage, based on their resources, approaches, and alignment with our own plans and paradigms.”