Many organizations support innovative research that results in services that benefit the public. Locally, you can enlist the aid of nearby businesses by organizing a forum of local business leaders who know what skills your students need to join the work force. A business can be asked to donate money for a pilot program or to form major partnerships with your school district. In one district, for example, the owners of a local machine company that could not find qualified employees offered to purchase equipment for one of the school’s vocational/technical education centers if the staff would develop an instructional program to train high school students to operate computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) equipment. (Becoming a Better Board Member)

Schools with successful technology programs enhance their communities and help attract new businesses, making them excellent community economic development tools. This is a strong argument for partnerships at the local level. In fact, more effective education could save corporations a lot of money, "If we make lifelong learners, then industries would not have to pay 20% of their manpower budget on retraining! The point is, if we can do the job right, then industry would be SMART to help fund us – we would be saving them money in several ways." (U.S. Department of Education, Voices from the Field listserv)

Partnerships

Creating partnerships between educational institutions and local businesses is mutually beneficial to all. The key to developing strong partnerships is to drop the distinction between formal and informal learning, look to creating communities of learning by developing educational opportunities in various parts of the community, including:

• Local businesses
• Parents
• Community organizations
• Distant experts, educators and other colleagues through networks with other education and government institutions professional and community associations, vendors, private sector

When creating a partnership with a local business or organization, use the following questions to guide your agreement:

• Does the potential partner recognize and support our project’s mission?
• What is in it for them?
• Is there a clearly designed role for the partner?
• Is the potential partner a competitor?

In this Module:

In the Toolkit: