Creating Meaningful Partnerships Between Schools and the Business Community

1. Creating Meaningful Partnerships Between Schools and the Business Community Business/Community Organization Date of Presentation

2. Today’s Session • Volunteering: the good, the bad, and the messy • Our approach • Volunteer support tools • Training • Handbook, web portal and more • Making the “match” work for you • Questions?

3. Expected Outcomes From This Session Participants will gain new ideas and strategies to connect students with business and community partners through: • project-based learning • long-term engagements in schools • trained volunteers

4. Our Approach • Philadelphia Academies Inc. founded the Career Academy model in 1969 • Initiated by business partners • One school, small cohort of students • Career Academies today • 10 career areas, 16 schools • 400 volunteers

5. Volunteering: The Good, the Bad, & the Messy • Think about when you have worked with a volunteer or have been a volunteer yourself: • Successes? • Challenges? “They taught me that if there’s something you want, don’t try to do it, just do it.” -Jacques Wells

6. The Messy • Why • Volunteers lacked self-awareness • Schools were not always clear on how to utilize volunteers • “One shot” volunteer engagements • How did we clean up the mess? • Design Team • Focus Groups • New tools for Volunteers

7. Volunteer Support Tools • Web Portal • Volunteer Handbook • Supports for In-school Personnel • Career Academy Institute for Business and Community Partners • Business & Community Partner Orientation

8. How do we match our volunteers? • Four Ways to Serve • Guest Instructor • Industry Content Coach • Industry Site Tour Coordinator • Internship/Workplace Coach

9. Objectives of Business & Community Partner Training • Participants will: • Understand PAI’s mission, history, and value • Develop a foundation in current educational approaches • Gain strategies for engaging high school students • Feel prepared for their volunteer experience • Understand how to match their skills and interests with PAI • Have role clarity and clarity about expectations Business & Community Partner Orientation

10. Overview of the Business & Community Partner Orientation • Agenda • Welcome and Introductions • The Philadelphia Academies’ Story • Partnering with PAI • Ways to Serve • Roles • Benefits • Rights and Responsibilities • 21st Century Skills • Project Based Learning • Engaging Youth • Boundaries • Next Steps • Understand PAI’s mission, history, and value • See value of PAI for networking • Understand how to match skills and interests • Role clarity • Clarity of expectations • Foundation in current educational approaches • Basis for applying knowledge in volunteer work • Understand strategies for engaging HS students • Understand healthy boundaries • Feel prepared and supported Business & Community Partner Orientation

11. Why Partner with PAI? • To effect change in the lives of teens • To utilize existing skills and to learn new ones • To teach your skills to others • To improve your health • To meet new people Business & Community Partner Orientation

12. Everybody Wins! • You • Meet new people • Give back • Make a difference in the lives of teens • Business • Employees acquire additional skills • Builds community support • Workforce development • Community • Community grows stronger Business & Community Partner Orientation

13. Triple Bottom Line Business & Community Partner Orientation

14. Rights & Responsibilities • Rights • To be recognized for your efforts • To be given guidance and direction • To be supported in your endeavors • To be safe • Responsibilities • To be punctual and dependable • To perform the duties associated with your “partner” role • To communicate with PAI “They taught me that if there’s something you want, don’t try to do it, just do it.” -Jacques Wells Business & Community Partner Orientation

15. Boundaries & Expectations • When working with students, remember: • Students are at the center • Set and enforce limits • Keep your promises • Listen and ask questions • Be patient • Be flexible “Now it’s my responsibility to help other people succeed that way my teachers helped me.” -Latoya Scott Business & Community Partner Orientation

16. Traditional Education vs. Project-Based Learning How is it different? Business & Community Partner Orientation Project Based Learning • Promotes broader set of skills than traditional curriculum • Concerned with issues that matter to students; connects lessons to those issues • Inquiry based Traditional • Provides little reference to world of work • Casts students in passive roles • Recall is valued, rather than ability to synthesize, hypothesize, and generalize

17. Project-based learning in Career Academies • Why does it work? • Project-based learning promotes teamwork, collaboration, and critical thinking • Students are presented with real problems, promoting skills they need on the job • PBL lends itself to participation from business and community partners “I learned about managing people and resources as a junior and senior in high school.” -Curtis Redding Business & Community Partner Orientation

18. ACTIVITY: Experiencing “the Match” Think about connecting students with business and community partners through: • project-based learning • long-term engagements in schools • trained volunteers Outline an experience for students where you would engage volunteers based on the menu of four • Guest Instructor • Industry Content Coach • Industry Site Tour Coordinator • Internship/Workplace Coach

19. Questions?

20. Thank You YOUR PARTICIPATION AND COMMITMENT ARE SINCERELY APPRECIATED! Krista Posada kposada@academiesinc.org Helen Rowe hrowe@academiesinc.org