With the school year in full swing across the Ozarks, the back-to-school fever has subsided and most districts are in the groove of a regular school year. But that doesn’t mean districts aren’t still looking for ways to make a difference in the lives of students – and one of those ways involves the business community.
Many students have a narrow view of what is even open to them. Others think they have to go to a four-year college to be successful. And some don’t believe someone like them could go into a particular field. Imagine if more businesses interacted with students, imagine how many different career fields would open up.
That is where the business community can help. School districts need business leaders to get involved. It could be for an hour once a year, it could be for an hour once a month, but districts want their students to see leaders in their future. Educators want students to see how they can change the world or be successful.
While districts do what they can to expose students to various future paths, students need to see themselves as business professionals. They need to see that someone just like them has the opportunity to overcome anything in their way and be successful.
Districts also need the business community to help change the face of education. Educators hear time and again the STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – fields are in dire need of workers and schools aren’t producing as many people as needed.
With school funding continually on the chopping block, making huge shifts in the educational process takes time and money. It would be powerful to see more businesses step up and partner with districts through time, money or guidance to help districts focus on making the experience even better.
It would be great if companies that need workers could spend time in local schools and offer a way for students to follow a specific track. They could get education and experience while still in high school. Wouldn’t it be great for some students to leave school with a career path set? And, wouldn’t it be great for those businesses that need workers to “grow their own” and have a pool of workers trained with the skills they need to fill open positions in their company?
All of those are real possibilities.
In fact, I can almost guarantee schools would find space for these opportunities. Districts just need partners in these endeavors. Area schools have great ideas and are working to prepare their students for the future, not the past.
To the big science and tech firms: Schools need you. To the startup in the loft downtown: Schools need you. To the store or business down the street: Schools need you. The next generation needs you, because students need to see what they can accomplish with their lives.
Schools strive to find what students were created to do. They strive to find what makes students unique. Teachers know each and every student has the skills and abilities to change the world in some way, big or small. Schools just need partners to help them help students make that a reality.
Again, that’s where businesses come in. Everyone from hair salons to computer stores to small-business owners to huge corporations have the opportunity to change and inspire the lives of our students. Schools just need business leaders to come along and partner with them. Will you?
Clay Hanna is the executive director of secondary education for Nixa Public Schools. He can be reached at clayhanna@nixaschools.net.[[In-content Ad]]
