The Ways to Improve Schools and Education (WISE) Project seeks to enhance school productivity by more effective use of community resources to meet school needs. Models and guidelines have been developed to promote collaboration among schools, businesses/chambers of commerce, other community organizations, state education agencies, and higher…

This guidebook is designed to assist schools and businesses in developing and implementing business-education partnerships. Examples of current successful partnerships are presented. The partnership between Kraft, Inc. and Edison Middle School is an example of partnerships that use employee mentors in the classroom. The Choices program, which many…

The Ways to Improve Schools and Education (WISE) Project sought to enhance school productivity by more effective use of community resources. WISE worked with three sites: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Oklahoma City, in 1983-84. In 1985, three more sites were added: Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; and New Orleans,…

Describes a cooperative education program in the Midland Public Schools (Michigan) which permits the student to receive on-the-job experience along with in-school education at the same time. The authors note that many of the same techniques described could be used effectively in a public relations program for any school in any community to enhance…

Employers and the business community in general should be fully informed regarding the type of student work program they are cooperating, or considering cooperating with. Descriptions of work experience and cooperative occupational education programs point out objective and participant differences. Suggestions to alleviate the problem are made.…

In efforts to upgrade the quality of education, many schools are finding ways to use community resources by forming partnerships with local businesses and other organizations. Businesses can help provide enrichment experiences, school to work preparation, incentives/equal educational opportunities, and assistance to school staff and administration…

A brief program description, recommendations to the sponsor, and an evaluation report are presented for a 6-day summer workshop to train public school teachers and administrators (K-12) to use community resource people in career awareness and exploration programs. Activities reported include large- and small-group training sessions, community site…

Differences are defined between the Supervised Occupational Experience Program (SOEP) and Agricultural Cooperative Education (ACE) in terms of development and legislation, general program characteristics, instructional aspects, associate (personnel) relationships, and community relationships. A combination of both programs would offer selected…

A study was conducted to establish a baseline profile of business and education linkage activities in Lake County, Illinois. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire sent to 242 public and private K-12 schools in Lake County. Two rounds of mailings resulted in the return of 109 usable forms, or 45 percent of the population. Telephone…

This document contains the proceedings of a conference for educators, business leaders, and government officials involved in school reform. The speakers at the conference were involved in city-wide partnerships that establish long-term, measurable goals for school improvement in exchange for business' pledge of employment opportunities for youth.…

The Work-Education Consortium Project involves more than thirty communities which have formed local councils to improve the relationship between the educational system and the employment system in their areas. The councils, each autonomous, are loosely organized and funded under the Department of Labor's Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects…

This document presents a comprehensive overview of cooperative education programs in the San Mateo Community College District. There are three plans which provide regular work experience related to college studies and career goals. The Alternative Semester pattern allows two students to hold one full-time position by exchanging work and study…

This document presents the Public/Private Partnership Programs, a school-community project developed in 1981 by the District of Columbia public schools and the private sector community to provide career-focused high school programs. The project was designed to motivate and support young people to stay in school, graduate from high school, and…

This document answers such questions as: What is the corporate action agenda of the National Alliance of Business (NAB)? Why is corporate action to improve education so critical? How is NAB addressing the issues? What has been achieved? What are NAB's long-term goals in the educational arena? and What are the components of NAB's corporate action…

This document profiles the business-education partnerships in 12 cities and reports the lessons learned from their experiences. The cities are Albuquerque (New Mexico), Cincinnati (Ohio), Detroit (Michigan), Indianapolis (Indiana), Louisville (Kentucky), Memphis (Tennessee), Miami/Dade County (Florida), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Providence (Rhode…