Piedmont Virginia Business-Education Alliance Creates Opportunities
Business is about to get more exciting for students through a new education-business partnership.
Five Central Virginia school districts established the Piedmont Virginia Business-Education Alliance in January 2007 to promote student achievement and workforce development.
The partnership includes members from the school districts of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle‚ Fluvanna‚ Greene and Nelson.
Area businesses and their employees are linked with individual schools to serve as student mentors and tutors‚ to host events and more.
“We want a stronger connection between learning and careers for students working in our community and students also being positioned for success anywhere in the world‚” says Cass Cannon‚ community relations specialist for Charlottesville City Schools.
Leaders in the business community will be able to share their experiences with students‚ much like fire fighters and police officers do when they visit elementary schools‚ she says.
The alliance will focus on the academic preparation for individual careers in a variety of sectors‚ including health care‚ education‚ service and government.
Charlottesville City Schools’ mission is “personal and academic success for all‚” Cannon says. “In that regard‚ we want the learning to be particular to each student‚ while at the same time‚ achieving certain standards. Any involvement for students in the workplace‚ especially at the high school level‚ is really a partnership the schools would like to cultivate and expand.”
Piedmont Virginia Business-Education Alliance was born out of previous school and business efforts.
Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville is overseeing the alliance‚ which will benefit students from kindergarten through graduation. Elementary students will get opportunities to learn about a range of careers‚ while high school students may receive assistance to find summer jobs and other work.
Businesses also could offer students incentives‚ such as free tickets and discounts on food‚ music and other items‚ in exchange for good grades.
“The idea is to get employers involved with the school district in terms of what kind of support employers can provide‚ and students will be exposed to the knowledge employers have and their needs for the next workforce generation‚” says Valerie Palamountain‚ dean of the Workforce Services division of Piedmont Virginia Community College.
The alliance’s director will meet with the school districts and local employers to determine the final vision for the new organization‚ she says.
The director also will implement ideas of how employers and schools can work together to foster student achievement and business growth.
“We’re going to be working with a lot of different employers‚” Palamountain says.
Those employers are in the best position to provide “some type of exposure to the student through internships and job shadowing and making those opportunities available at the worksite‚” she says.
