2016-2020 Strategic Plan of the Mississippi Board of Education is:
Every student graduates high school and is ready for college and career.
How can our nation can be so complacent while more than 30% of our young people don't even graduate from high school and millions who do graduate have not even learned to properly read, write, or count. Where is the outrage? Where is the urgency? Where is the courage to really challenge the status quo in our educational establishment? The severe educational and skills gap we face today is a challenge that should unite us as a nation and a society. Business/Industry professionals, teachers, school districts, community leaders, and institutions of higher education must all get directly and personally involved.
Thomas J. Donohue,
President & CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Industry-Educator Partnerships are becoming more and more important in Mississippi as: 1. schools work toward increasing graduation rates and student success, 2. business/industry professionals work toward bridging the skills gaps in workforce development, and 3. communities work toward increasing economic opportunities and the quality of life for all.
Industry-Educator Partnerships can:
- Align education, workforce, and economic development systems to be employer driven,
- provide professional development opportunities for educators,
- offer career-relevant learning experiences for teachers,
- integrate more real-world learning experiences into today's classrooms,
- engage teachers in hands-on learning activities through job immersion experiences,
- identify relevant 21st century workforce skills and career pathways tied to employer needs,
- share resources, tools, and supports for career pathways,
- close the skill gap between potential employees and workforce needs/requirements,
- involve educators in regional economic development, and
- build capacity in industries by developing and recruiting qualified potential workers.
Below are specific opportunities industry-education partners might provide. After discussing with the leaders in your business/industry, please mark the specific activities you will consider providing for your local school district:
____Provide books for the library.
____Provide incentives to motivate students.
____Provide guest speakers.
____Volunteer in the library and PBIS Store.
____Volunteer to read with students.
____Provide school greeters on special days.
____Assist with special events.
____Volunteers to tutor students.
____Lead school beautification projects.
____Help with career fairs.
____Provide career mentorships/advisors.
____Offer student apprenticeships/internships.
____Provide support for resume writing.
____Help with mock interviews.
____Convey workplace behavioral expectations to students.
____Conduct interest inventories for career alignment/pathways.
____Offer service learning opportunities for students.
____Conduct joint industry-education events.
____Assist with career exposure/research.
____Conduct workplace site visits.
____Offer Job shadowing days for students.
____Have your industry leaders shadow a teacher/principal for a day.
____Collaborate with educators on workplace projects/problem solving.
____Work with educators to identify workplace skills needed.
____Allow your employees who are parents of students, one hour of work time to visit their child's school, have lunch with their child, go read with their child, go volunteer in their child's classroom.
