Business/Education Partnership Forum Newsletter

March 2010 - v5n3

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Note from the editor
• Top articles, commentaries, and announcements from February 2010
• Upcoming events

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

There’s a certain unfortunate irony in the fact that partnership and foundation leaders need to generate more community support than ever, but can no longer afford needed professional development as a result of budget cuts. I’m certainly sympathetic to the challenge – but I also know from firsthand experience that an investment in your knowledge and skills, particularly in the kinds of work we all do, can pay off many times over in the form of new support for your schools and programs.

Speaking for myself, I’ve gotten tremendous value from some of the conferences I’ve attended: they helped me better understand how big business looks at education (US Chamber), shown me how to attract major gifts for schools (National School Foundation Association), and allowed me to discover innovative partnership models in action that I would never had dreamed of on my own (Texas Association of Partners in Education). Then there are the magazines, webinars, books… I can honestly say that I’d be much less effective in my work were it not for taking advantage of these opportunities and resources.

I would encourage everyone to find some way to invest in your own professional development and the development of your staff. Join an association; attend a conference; buy a book; attend a training or webinar. Figure out what would help you make a bigger impact and pursue it. If you can’t move any funds around to make it happen, ask one of your board members or corporate partners to underwrite it: they’ll certainly understand the return on that investment, and if they believe in what you’re doing they’ll know that it’s some of the best money they could spend.

Speaking of conferences, I’ll be attending the upcoming NSFA conference in Chicago (see here); if you’ll be there and would like to talk partnerships, let me know. I’d love to connect with more people in the field.

Best,

Brett

TOP ARTICLES, COMMENTARIES, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM FEBRUARY 2010

Selected to highlight business thinking on education or innovative approaches to engagement

• The Case for Stakeholder Engagement - Stanford Social Innovation Review (Spring 2010)
• Community Schools: Reform's Lesser-Known Frontier - Education Week (February 1, 2010)
• Parent Volunteers Help School District - Teacher Magazine (February 2, 2010)
• Engineering a future: Why a new diploma is a hit with the girls - Education News (February 5, 2010)
• NASA and Texas Instruments Use Human Spaceflight To Bring Math and Science Topics into High School Classrooms - Texas Instruments press release (February 10, 2010)
• Study: Use engineers to teach maths - Irish Examiner (February 12, 2010)
• Manufacturing Education Centers for High Schools - PRLog (February 12, 2010)
• Laptop learners: Partnership drops computers into the laps of students - Mercury News (February 16, 2010)
• Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement Honor Top U.S. Science and Math Students and Teachers - Siemens press release (February 18, 2010)
• Do educators really want involved parents? - Education News (February 18, 2010)
• First Book Partners With Lockheed Martin to Develop the Best in Digital Education Resources - First Book press release (February 18, 2010)
• Natick Labs program turns teachers into students - MetroWest Daily News (February 19, 2010)
• A Midstream Switch to Teaching - New York Times (February 20, 2010)
• Parents Still Major Influence on Child’s Decision to Pursue Science Careers - Science Daily (February 21, 2010)
• Career-oriented curriculum at Texas schools gets with the times - Dallas Morning News (February 21, 2010)
• Building on their support - The Morning Call (February 21, 2010)
• Obama Plan Would Tie Title I to College-Career Standards - Education Week (February 22, 2010)
• Worthington courses now good for full college credit - Columbus Local News (February 23, 2010)
• Businesses pitch to 8th graders at job fair - WVLT Knoxville (February 24, 2010)
• 2010 Siemens Teacher Scholarships Awarded - Siemens press release (February 25, 2010)
• Survey: Educators aren’t discussing STEM careers with students - eSchoolNews (February 25, 2010)
• Business principles won't work for school reform, former supporter Ravitch says - Washington Post (February 26, 2010)
• In Middle School, Charting Their Course to College and Beyond - New York Times (February 28, 2010)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• NSFA Annual Conference, National School Foundation Association; April 7-9, Chicago IL
• 10 th Annual International Education and Business Partnership Conference, Conference Board of Canada; April 25-28, Toronto, Canada

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