A How To Guide For School-Business Partnerships

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

Developed by the Council for Corporate and School Partnerships, "this guide is designed to help schools and corporations learn how to create, implement, sustain or evaluate a school-business partnership. It identifies a series of steps in establishing a school-business partnership." Depending on the nature of the proposed arrangement, not all of the steps may be necessary. The 18 suggested steps follow.

1. Determine whether your school/students have unmet needs and whether forming a business partnership to meet those needs would enhance the student experience.
2. Identify and research potential partners.
3. Understand your core values.
4. Draft a partnership proposal and submit it to your potential partner.
5. Have a frank discussion about values, goals and needs.
6. Assess the impact if partnership on the academic, social and physical well-being of students.
7. Define short- and long-range goals of partnership, including expected outcomes.
8. Collaborate with your partner to identify activities that meet goals of all involved.
9. Align activities with education goals of school/district.
10. Ensure that partnership activities are integrated into the school and business culture.
11. Ensure that the partnership provides opportunities for students, teachers and business employees to interact with each other and at community, school and business sites.
12. Establish a formal (and written) management structure with specific individuals assigned to manage partnerships to ensure accountability, provide quality control and monitor alignment with partnership goals.
13. Provide training for all involved parties.
14. Secure explicit support and concurrence for the partnership throughout the school and business at the highest levels, as well as throughout the staff.
15. Provide the community an opportunity to review and contribute.
16. Construct detailed internal and external communications plans and communicate regularly about intended and actual outcomes of all activities.
17. Ensure that both partners are publicly and privately recognized for their contribution.
18. Based on definitions of success determined earlier, conduct regular evaluations that include data collection and analysis to determine accomplishments, strengths and weaknesses of the partnership.

To read the complete guide, click on A How To Guide For School Business Partnerships

Source:

Council for Corporate and School Partnerships

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