How Schools Can Help Their "Partners?"
The faculty, staff and even the student body can contribute many of its resources to developing a firm and friendly partnership. Following are a few suggestions, but the possibilities are limitless:
- Teachers can sponsor potluck parties for business employees to meet the staff.
- The business partner can be invite to see classrooms “in action”.
- Plan an “Open House” at the school; personalize it by pairing teachers with company employees.
- Send ads for the business on notices going home and publicize and recognize the help schools are receiving from their partners.
- As a learning experience, children can videotape public service “commercials” about the program and the company’s involvement. These can be shared with the company.
- Have a student art/poster contest about the company, and then display the winners in the company’s lobby.
- The school can design an official “Partners in Education” T-shirt. These can be worn around town, and even on the school wide “T-shirt Day”, providing deserved recognition for the business partner.
- Musical, dramatic, artistic, speech, dance and literary abilities of students can be shared with their partners. Perhaps a program can be performed at business functions.
- The business partner can be honored at an assembly at year’s end.
- Students can help beautify the company by picking up litter and pulling weeds.
- An intern could be established. Students can help their business partners by doing clerical work or answering phones; students meanwhile, learn about the demands of the work place.
- Teachers, especially those benefiting most from the partnership, might wish to share their skills. Perhaps a Spanish teacher might wish to hold a conversational Spanish class; a P.E. instructor might want to show the business partner how to set up an exercise class; or a homemaking teacher might wish to conduct a “Cookie School” in the summer for the company employees.
Recognize!!! Students can and should write thank you notes on an ongoing basis; the school newspaper can devote a section to partnerships news, and the yearbook can honor the business. A complimentary copy might be presented to the business partner at year’s end.
