Forward Janesville Unveils Revamped Education Council
Forward Janesville is proud to announce that the Education Council has been reborn with new vitality and a renewed commitment to building bridges between Janesville’s business and education communities.
There is no question that our world and its economy are changing, and that these changes will put enormous pressure on our educational system. The world becomes smaller every day, and our kids are competing not only with their peers in Madison and Milwaukee, but with students around the world. Producing a workforce that is ready to step in to the jobs of tomorrow while meeting the demands of today’s employers is a tremendous challenge for our educators, and one they should not face alone. If our economy is to thrive in the 21st Century, partnerships between businesses and educators are vital.
FJI’s Education Council—formerly known as the Education Division—was formed in 1995, a testament to the business community’s commitment to a strong education system. Since then, Forward Janesville has maintained a close relationship with the education community, and the work of the revamped Education Council will only enhance this relationship. FJI’s commitment to education was evidenced most recently by our support of the school district’s $70 million high school renovation referendum, which was approved on November 7. Additionally, FJI played a critical role in efforts to add a four-year engineering program at UW-Rock County, and led private sector efforts to raise the $500,000-plus needed to construct the engineering laboratory.
Under the leadership of Co-Chairs Steve Huth, the Janesville School District’s Career and Technical Education Coordinator and Director of Summer School Programming, and Mary Willmer-Sheedy, the President of M&I Bank in Janesville, the Education Council has identified a number of projects where partnerships with the business community are needed the most. The members of the Education Council considered eleven different projects, and chose four areas on which to concentrate in 2007:
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Middle school partnerships,
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Education for the working adult population,
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The Rock River Charter School, and
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The Business and Career Expo.
The remaining projects, which include the Virtual Charter School, the Academy of International Studies and a nursing degree partnership, will be addressed in future years.
In addition to these projects, the Education Council plans to take an active role in communicating its mission to Forward Janesville’s membership, its Board of Directors and the public. And while the membership of the Council has changed, its vision remains the same: “to promote a collaborative partnership between the business community and all Janesville area educational institutions in a manner that results in life-long learning opportunities that foster positive growth and development of the community.”
Huth and Willmer-Sheedy invite FJI Members who support the Education Council’s mission to learn more by emailing Dan Cunningham, the Council’s staff liaison,