As I write this, the leaves on the tree outside my window have started to change color and fall softly to the ground. Even though the temperature outside stands at a toasty 87 degrees, my calendar tells me that autumn is officially upon us. If you’re like me, time of the year leads to thoughts of football (a good thought), mothballing the lawnmower for another year (a very good thought), and predicting when the first snowflakes will fly (ugh).
For those of us with school-age children, the turn of seasons means packing the kids off to another year of school. Though my little guy isn’t quite old enough for his first day of school, his education has been top of mind since the moment he entered this world.
As Forward Janesville’s Vice President of Government Relations and Education, I have been fortunate to work closely with our community’s education leaders since my arrival in Janesville a year ago. I have also been fortunate to serve as the staff liaison to Forward Janesville’s Education Council, an outstanding group comprised of business and education community leaders. This group has existed in one form or another for well over a decade, which is a testament to the business community’s commitment to a strong education system.
The Education Council’s mission is to promote partnerships between the business community and all Janesville schools. This is a big, hairy task, and bringing this somewhat vague vision into focus was no picnic. For nearly a year, Council Members, led by co-Chairs Mary Willmer-Sheedy of M&I Bank and Steve Huth of the School District of Janesville, gathered information on the state of education in Janesville. During this fact-finding period, the group spent many hours learning about what our schools are doing right, where they could use a little help, and how the business community can step in and provide assistance.
To respond to the needs identified by Janesville’s educators, the Education Council introduced the Education Partnership Project on the first day of the 2007-2008 school year. Simply put, the Education Partnership Project is a volunteer drive focused on getting the business community into our schools.
The Education Partnership Project focuses on three key areas: partnerships with Janesville’s middle schools, the Rock River Charter School, and support for working adult students. Within these areas, there are ten exciting and rewarding volunteer opportunities, and I am willing to bet you will find something attractive in at least one of them.
We’ve done our best to cover all possible areas of interest with these opportunities. For example, you can sign up to be a mentor to a student at Edison Middle School. You can help a child who is having trouble with basic skills simply by listening to him or her read. You can give a presentation about your job, what you do, and the education it took to get where you are. You can help a student hone his or her job interviewing skills. In fact, you can do almost anything, as I will take great pains to tailor each opportunity to your interests and the time you have available.
To paraphrase a commercial I've seen recently, don’t almost volunteer. It may sound like a tired cliché, but giving a bit of yourself really can make a difference in someone’s life. If we all work together, we can help kids in our area from kindergarten to commencement and beyond.
So let’s get to it! Please contact me at danc@forwardjanesville.com to sign up for the Education Partnership Project, or visit www.ForwardJanesville.com for more information.