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Guidelines for School-Business Partnerships
The U.S. General Accounting Office reports that state laws governing commercial activities in schools vary widely (Shaul).
Nationwide, only general laws and regulations that apply to all businesses or that govern school finance usually cover school-based commercial activities. However, 19 states currently have statutes or regulations that address school-related commercial activities, but in 14 of these states, statutes and regulations are not comprehensive and permit or restrict only specific types of activities. (Shaul)
The GAO found that "in most cases, local school officials are responsible for making decisions about commercial activities." As a result, the level of commercial activities in schools varies among and even within districts: "Because most of the decisions are made at the local level, different preferences of local officials will result in different levels of commercial activities across districts and across schools in the same district" (Shaul).
Although it is not practically possible to construct a single, comprehensive set of recommendations addressing the many facets of business involvement in schools, the following sections highlight recent education policies, federal laws, and practical guidelines concerning school-business relationships.
The guidelines are drawn from a variety of sources. They include the meaning and scope of educational partnerships, education policies on corporate involvement in schools, procedures for cultivating successful partnerships, and recommended principles for the use of technology in the classroom.
A Policy Decision: What Kind of Partnership Do We Want?
Schools that decide to form partnerships with businesses are advised to identify the specific educational goal to be achieved by the partnership, involve parents and the larger community in the decision, and design a district policy in advance that addresses the ethical and legal issues of school-business relationships.
Once the partnership is under way, schools are also advised to evaluate the partnership on a regular basis.
Educational partnerships vs. business deals. As schools in Canada turn to partnerships with businesses, they are grappling with problems similar to their U.S. counterparts. In a recent analysis of school-business partnerships in Canada's Rocky View School Division (RVSD), Gladstone and Jacobsen (1999) say that "educators have to clearly define for stakeholders what constitutes an educational partnership, and what is a business deal." They cite a recent report showing that "an overwhelming majority of Canadians support the idea of schools forming more links with business, but many are wary of advertising in the classroom" (Gladstone and Jacobsen).
To address this dilemma, Gladstone and Jacobsen suggest that educators need to distinguish between educational partnerships and business deals: "The bottom line," they say, is that "if there is no direct educational benefit to children, then the relationship is not an educational partnership."
Advertising on school buses in exchange for funding, for example, offers no direct educational benefit to children; such an exchange would therefore be a business deal rather than an educational partnership. As Gladstone and Jacobsen put it: "In order for educational partnerships to contribute to a valuable and legitimate educational experience for our children, there has to be a direct and measurable impact on learning."
Educational partnerships as working relationships. Becton and Sammon likewise distinguish educational partnerships from money-centered business deals, stressing that "partnership is not about money." "[W]e all realize that money alone will not cure today's educational problems." They go even further, and bring the relationship model into school-business partnerships: like any relationship, partnership "takes time, clear communication, flexibility, and constant attention." Moreover, the successful partnership is no longer about "occasional forays into schools for special programs and activities"; rather, successful partnerships call for long-term commitment and are "more about shared responsibility than corporate donations" (Becton and Sammon).
While encouraging their business peers to become more involved in schools, Becton and Sammon advise businesses "to foster the values that make a commitment to the lives of our youth." They envision partnerships as working relationships between businesses and schools, based on a shared sense of responsibility to improve the quality of students' lives:
The contributions of educators and business and community leaders have evolved from paternalistic "adopt us/help be the parent" attitudes to full working agreements by which principals and business and community organizations have learned new ways of working together, developing a vision and sharing responsibility for student growth and development.
Long-term, committed partnerships based on shared responsibility "include training students, as well as administrators, and involve employees at all levels, not just executives," write Becton and Sammon.
Once a partnership is under way, schools are also advised to evaluate the partnership on a regular basis. Schools that formulate policies in advance are better equipped to decide the terms of their partnerships with businesses, and to form positive educational partnerships that approach students as learners and as citizens.
Drawing the line between the public and private interest before the first marketer targets your school or district, and involving your community in this important discussion, can prevent community dissension, parental protest, and possible litigation after the fact. (Fege and Hagelshaw 2000)
Practical Guidelines for Successful Partnerships
"Successful partnerships between schools and community organizations require time to get to know one another, their needs, and their resources," contend Becton and Sammon. They identify three key steps to building partnerships, what schools can ask their partners for, and practical guidelines for creating and sustaining successful partnerships:
Three key ingredients to partnership building:
- Identify what you need to accomplish. Set a goal. If it's unclear why you are establishing the partnership, it's going to be impossible to find common ground on which to build.
- Identify the knowledge, the skills, and the abilities you need to accomplish the task and then set out to build your team. The team need not be limited to the school community. Businesses, nonprofit organizations, postsecondary schools, unions, professional associations, government agencies, parents and parents' groups, and alumni are all resources.
- Know that you do not have to forge partnerships on your own. Become familiar with those who are responsible for creating and sustaining community partnerships for your school district. There will certainly be a central office staff person designated for that responsibility. However, an intermediary organization, such as the local chamber of commerce, may have assumed responsibility for building bridges between community groups and educators.
What can schools ask their partners for?
- In-school lectures; work-based experiences, such as job shadowing and internships, mentors and role models for students
- Work-based experiences and mentors for teachers
- Help setting goals, integrating curriculum, and developing strategic plans
- Assistance in meeting student needs outside of the classroom-for example, grief counseling, personal development, work-appropriate clothing, and housing
- Help securing equipment, resources, and funds (money should be the last thing educators look to their partners for)
- Help with recognizing partners, parents, and colleagues and awarding merit-based scholarships
- Team training-partners can help focus and lead workshops for teachers and student leaders
- Identification of research trends and statistical and anecdotal evaluations
- Paid and nonpaid job experiences for students
Guidelines for Establishing Partnerships
- Assess the current partnerships for your school and build a computer database of your existing resources. Track the number and types of partnership contacts and opportunities you generate in a year.
- Designate one person in your school to work with business partners. Make sure he or she has the requisite skills and the necessary time and the support for phone calls, meetings, and correspondence. A single point of contact will make it easier for everyone to know who is coordinating activities, resources, and needs.
- Identify an "in" when approaching a potential partner-for example, a parent who works in the company, an alumni link, or a name from a newspaper article. If you cannot find such a connection, contact the company's community relations office or personnel office.
- Establish true partnerships by taking the time to learn about your partners' needs and interests and communicate your own. Then develop a common vision and shared responsibility for teaching students effectively.
- Take time to develop a team attitude and build understanding of the two very different cultures in school and work environments. [Educators must understand the time-sensitivity, value-added, and financial concerns of business and community organizations. These organizations must be aware of the demands of working in frequently under-equipped buildings with, perhaps, several thousand young people and hundreds of adults, all of whom have rigid schedules.]
- Constantly evaluate and assess your partnership.
- Be flexible; make adjustments when necessary.
- Communicate clearly and honestly about challenges, pitfalls, problems, and successes.
- Say thank you often and in a variety of ways. (Becton and Sammon)
Alternatives to Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship provides resources that are just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall funding and actual needs of public education, yet the price of sponsorship may include a compromised learning environment, parental and community protest, and litigation (Fege and Hagel-shaw 2000).
Corporate sponsorship can also backfire, say its critics, when the public underestimates the needs of schools that have turned to corporate sponsors (Hagelshaw, in Merrow 1999). After seeing corporate-sponsored "extras" like a new athletic facility, taxpayers may decide not to vote for funds that are required to meet the basic needs of a school (Hagelshaw, in Merrow).
Communities can also become accustomed to the private funding of their schools, making fundraising in the public sphere more difficult in the future. The more "schools resort to private enterprise as a source of funding for public education, the less the school board, state legislature, and Congress feel obligated to allocate from the public purse," say Fege and Hagelshaw.
As for schools that still need additional funds, Fege and Hagelshaw note that there are many untapped foundations and organizations that do not require "the commercial quid pro quo." Stephens, Karnes, and Samel (2000) suggest that schools in search of supplemental funding "should consider fund development, an approach long practiced by colleges and universities... but seldom attempted by elementary and middle schools."
In "A Principal's Guide to Fundraising," Stephens, Karnes, and Samel explain planned giving, grants, and creative fundraising, and highlight resources that can help principals locate federal and philanthropic funding sources.
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