By Elizabeth Luna, CTE Department Chair
Athens Drive Magnet High School, Raleigh, NC
As a founding pillar, family and community partnerships are a sign of a highly effective school. These connections with community members, industry leaders, and local businesses support the education of all students, connecting the real-world to the school building. This engagement is often seen within board members, job fairs, and speakers. However, students struggle to connect with professionals through these more-typically established connections.
The need to authentically connect the community to the classroom, teacher, and students should not be overlooked. To truly support the values found in this pillar, industry professionals must be actively engaged in the classroom. Professionals connected to classrooms, beyond a guest speaker, is the key to authenticating learning and helping students link concepts to their future.
I have seen the impact that partnerships within the high school classroom can have on students, including increasing engagement and validating learning. Teachers also find value in the relationships built, working closely with someone to bring better educational merit to their lessons. Below, I list three ways that every teacher should consider connecting their classroom to a community partner and impacts on student learning.
More than a field trip, a site visit should be focused on students learning through a specific lens. Students visit a site to understand a topic and then apply that learning to a larger project. Example: Students in a graphic design class visit a community garden to learn more about sustainable agricultural practices and the garden itself. They use this exploration to ask questions and understand the business. After, they produce products that support the business owner’s goals while applying specific skills they are working on in class.
Students Gain:
How often are teachers asked to teach about a topic in which they are not experts? Instead, business partners fill the content void, partnering with a classroom teacher. Example: A science teacher is hitting standards around water contamination and testing. A water department specialist partners with the teacher, discussing the content connections, supporting the lecture, and helping develop activities focusing on content as applied to the local water system.
Students Gain:
Brought in to support content delivery, an expert attends class sessions to support a teacher’s pre-established project. Example: Local professionals attend an entrepreneurship class early in a project to review ideas and offer support to students. In some cases, they come into the classroom multiple times. At the end of the project, professionals return as a review board for the work – giving direct feedback to students.
Students Gain:
Though I am sure there are more ways for community members to become involved. As a deeper connection grows, students learn more about career opportunities, application of their skills, and are connected to the current world. It is important to remember that this relationship authenticates classroom learning, increasing student engagement and by-in, making teaching more enjoyable.
Raise the level of performance consistent throughout school districts nationwide and creates a platform from which all magnet schools can flourish. Magnet Schools of America’s national certification process is designed to recognize the hard work of the best magnet schools in the nation and to help them as they grow.
