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Matt Morrow: Managing the growth of the program is a key concern.
Matt Morrow: Managing the growth of the program is a key concern.

Chamber buys in to school work-readiness program

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Business owners, meet students. Students, welcome to the real world.

On Feb. 18, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce announced it would work with Springfield Public Schools and 10 other area districts to launch a career readiness initiative connecting local businesses with students to address workforce challenges.

Chamber President and CEO Matt Morrow said he’s seen wide support from chamber members and the organization’s board solidifying workforce development as a key priority.

On Feb. 17, chamber board members and directors of its Springfield Business Development Corp. subsidiary demonstrated their support by unanimously approving a memorandum of understanding that authorizes the chamber to manage the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Professional Studies.

GO CAPS will focus public education resources on confronting key issues of talent development and retention for the business community once the pilot project starts next school year.

Organizers expect program details to be released in April.

Morrow said the conversations began about two months ago with SPS Superintendent John Jungmann, who had experience with the Northland Center for Advanced Professional Studies during his tenure as superintendent of Liberty’s 11,500-student school district.

“John Jungmann is our ace in the hole on this. He’s been through this before,” Morrow said.

“We see our role as connector and convener.”

Other participating districts are Logan-Rogersville, Nixa, Willard, Republic, Ozark, Strafford, Reeds Spring, Branson, Bolivar and Monett.

Features of the program include: immersing high school juniors and seniors in professional development environments through curriculum driven by industry leaders; offering students a “test-drive” for their futures by learning from local professionals about existing jobs and jobs likely to be available after graduation; and combining hands-on career experiences and classroom learning by partnering with businesses to deliver feedback on real-world projects.

The program will be available to a limited number of students in its rollout, Morrow said, and initial course offerings are expected to focus on businesses in the health care and manufacturing sectors. The chamber has not named potential business partners.

Joy Horgan, college career counselor for Nixa Public Schools, said the district is securing 20 students to fill its spots next year.

“It exposes students to an opportunity to look into some careers they might be interested in checking out,” Horgan said, adding she doesn’t yet know what businesses would be involved.

Jungmann updated the district’s board of education at its Feb. 17 meeting on the status of the Go CAPS development. He said the program originated in Blue Valley and was replicated in several Kansas City-area districts, including his former district of Liberty.

“We see this as a real opportunity to not do this in isolation, but to do this regionally because our partners in business obviously hire throughout the area and they want to partner with multiple school districts,” Jungmann told the board during the meeting.

Jungmann and fellow stakeholders will spend the next four months fine-tuning the program. He said one of the key first steps has been achieved with the chamber agreeing to manage the initiative.

As the next step in the process, chamber officials are arranging an industry tour March 17 with district representatives and local companies.

Tim Rosenbury, SPS board member and co-owner of architecture firm Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., said he supports the program because it can strengthen the classroom experience.

“It provides a chance for greater relevance between what is learned in school and what might be applied by students in the future,” he said. “It’s not intended to be a substitute for classroom learning.”

Rosenbury said school board members want these efforts from Jungmann.

“They expected change that would bring Springfield Public Schools into a 21st Century learning mode, but still a mode that is appropriate for Springfield,” Rosenbury said. “One of the things that is exciting about this program, and there are several, is that this is not being done alone.

“It’s going to be innovative for us, but we are not out on territory that hasn’t been tested elsewhere.”   

Morrow said his key concern is managing the program’s expected growth.

“Usually, I’d think I would be worried about getting buy-in for this kind of thing, but we’re focused on managing the growth,” he said. “In three to five years, I want us to have something that is scaled properly and offers the right opportunities for businesses and students.”[[In-content Ad]]

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