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Imagine a world where business, labor and community organizations work in
partnership with school personnel to meet the academic challenges faced by
public schools . . . After examining school data, these caring people work
as a team to develop goals to ensure that all students are able to reach
their full potential . . . This would be a world where schools are
provided additional resources (tutors, mentors, etc.) by their partners to
ensure that every child is given every opportunity to learn, to explore
career opportunities and to become a successful member of society . . .
This would be a world where principals and teachers don't feel overly
frustrated with the demands of No Child Left Behind, because they know
that they have a team of caring, community members who are willing to help
the school meet those demands . . .
In a nutshell, this is the world of Results-based Partnerships, a pilot
project initiated by The Education Alliance in November 2003 in
partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education. Funding for
this innovative project has been provided by the Claude Worthington
Benedum Foundation.
Six partnerships were selected for this pilot program in October 2003.
School and business representatives from six partnerships were trained in
November 2003 how to dissect school data and how to tutor children most
effectively. At this training session, school and partner representatives
for each partnership examined school data and the school's Unified School
Improvement Plan and then developed specific goals -- and specific
activities to help the school meet those goals. The project will continue
through the end of the 2003-04 school year.
As part of this groundbreaking partnership engagement and research
project, before and after assessment data, as well as anecdotal
information, will be assimilated by a third party evaluator/researcher to
determine what works and how effectively it works in school-business
partnerships.
The Alliance believes that this model can easily be copied in schools
across West Virginia, as well as America, to provide much-needed
resources, such as tutors and mentors, for public school classrooms.
Schools can no longer do it alone. Today, more than ever before, they need
the support and encouragement from business, community organizations and
labor groups in order to succeed.
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