I'm going to double down on the issue of school resources. Again, this discussion assumes there will be no avenue for increasing resources through the district. During my recent school visit my lead principal commented about the relationship the district had with the local Rotary club. I asked what the relationship boiled down to for our school it seemed to be more a matter of moral support than real material involvement. I am not sure this is the case and will seek more information in the future.
Whatever the level of actual involvement with the school, I hope to first understand the actual terms of engagement between the civic community and the school, and then develop a plan to enhance that relationship. I would like to initiate a mentorship/internship relationship with the business community, though I have been thinking about from the perspective of a high school principal. Given that I've been assigned to a grade school for the internship year, the challenge is not more or less difficult, but it is different. Yesterday Dr Maridada spoke of the badges children in his school wore which included a comment on their individual career goals. It dawned on me, while an internship program with grade schoolers is not realistic, an occassional, "bring your mentee to work" day could be instituted. For example, let the child who aspires to be a doctor spend a day in the local clinic with her mentor, etc.,etc. These special days can be orchestrated to take place on teacher inservice days, when the kids would otherwise just be sitting at home.
All of what is described here is very preliminary in the thought process, but I am committed to getting something like this up and running, and in sustainable form. Much more thought is necessary before even beginning to propose something to my school.
I should add, my administrative group is very open to me taking initiative on matters such as this, so well see what happens.
Whatever the level of actual involvement with the school, I hope to first understand the actual terms of engagement between the civic community and the school, and then develop a plan to enhance that relationship. I would like to initiate a mentorship/internship relationship with the business community, though I have been thinking about from the perspective of a high school principal. Given that I've been assigned to a grade school for the internship year, the challenge is not more or less difficult, but it is different. Yesterday Dr Maridada spoke of the badges children in his school wore which included a comment on their individual career goals. It dawned on me, while an internship program with grade schoolers is not realistic, an occassional, "bring your mentee to work" day could be instituted. For example, let the child who aspires to be a doctor spend a day in the local clinic with her mentor, etc.,etc. These special days can be orchestrated to take place on teacher inservice days, when the kids would otherwise just be sitting at home.
All of what is described here is very preliminary in the thought process, but I am committed to getting something like this up and running, and in sustainable form. Much more thought is necessary before even beginning to propose something to my school.
I should add, my administrative group is very open to me taking initiative on matters such as this, so well see what happens.
( This is Willie Cook) Akron Public Schools have attempted this model with some success. I am a part of an initiative like this but it is with college age students. I will mentor the same student for 4 years. His name is Isaiah, he is currently in Italy on a study abroad trip. When he returns he will be starting an internship with Huntington Bank.
ReplyDeleteThe Beauty of programs like this, to me, is that you can create relationships between two people who would otherwise, never meet. This is important, especially in terms of social capital! Also, the two people can view the world from the others lense...it is important to view life from different perspectives. I benefited from this when I worked as a caddy at a country club. I didn't want to do the job but over time I realized the network that I was building, some of those gentlemen and women I still speak with to this day. As my position in the community has grown, these people have become allies. If you have the ability to do this in your district, I encourage you to do it. It will yield large benefits!!
I think connecting with the Rotary is a great idea. The school I worked at most recently had a close involvement with a church in Cleveland and the most powerful relationships came from students and families being involved with individual volunteers both during the day and afterwards or on the weekend. The church we were working with functioned almost like how I recall the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) working during my time as a student. The members available volunteered to distribute books, hand out prizes, read books to classes, and more. We had a couple large events where the church reached out to their broader network and had volunteers from different careers host an informational fair and event in the fall and in the spring. This was a relationship I hadn't ever seen at any of the other schools I worked at and it was based on the established roots of one long-term elementary teacher with particular church members. The relationship blossomed over multiple years and I was lucky enough to witness it a few years in the making. I hope to take some of what I learned there into building connections with Rotary, 4H, PTA, local religious groups, Greek groups, or wherever I can find groups of people committed to making a difference in schools. Good luck, I want to hear how it develops.
ReplyDeleteTim, thanks for bringing up this idea. Mentorship has a huge impact on students - whether student to student, adult to student, or some other type. Drawing on community partners, businesses, etc. can be a great way to help start up programs like this.
ReplyDeleteYou should also check out the Community Connectors state program - which Governor Kasich launched a few years ago. There are now programs all across the state, and each year, there is a new grant application window. The state budget has the program funded for at least another couple years, I believe.
http://communityconnectors.ohio.gov/