A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Examples of employee involvement	Educational leave policies; flexible schedules; workplace seminars on educational issues; resource libraries; linking supervisor performance evaluations with employee use of educational benefits; summer vacation and school vacation programs; resource and referral; college information and financial aid seminars
Business objectives/outcomes	Reduce absenteeism Ensure that there will be a qualified future workforce Increase productivity Contribute to a positive community quality of life
School objectives/outcomes	Prepare students for success in the work world Improve skills in reading and math Build "real life skills" needed in the work world

At First Union, we believe public education is the key to improved quality of life, economic freedom and the future of America's work-force. Giving our time and talents to improving education is the best legacy we can leave to future generations. (John Georgius, Chairman and Chair of the Excellence in Education Board of Directors)

First Union Bank has a policy, "Time Away from Work for Education" which allows employees up to four paid hours per month to volunteer in the schools.

Nations Bank offers all employees, not only parent employees, two hours a week to volunteer in the schools. Other business education partnerships have been developed, including tutoring and mentoring. One school found an improvement in reading scores in the first year of the tutoring program. At the NationsBank work-site school, high levels of parent involvement are expected to produce better test scores for children.

The PIECES program is a clear winner for Ridgeview. We know by doing this, our employees' children end up performing better at school and our employees are more confident about their children's activities and performance. Rest assured, any lost time involved in the process is more than made up for by productive employees who are confident about their children's well-being. (Hugh R. Gaither, President and CEO)

At Ridgeview, Inc.,a family-owned hosiery company of 465 employees in Newton, North Carolina, school counselors meet with parents at the workplace four times during the school year. The PIECES program, which was conceived by the school system, allows counselors to talk with parents about their children's school progress for 15 minutes in company office space. Employees are paid for their time.

GTE Corporationsponsors a one-day seminar on the elements of successful college planning. The seminar is a broadcast teleconference, so that GTE employees and family members from all U.S. locations can participate. Local sites are encouraged to supplement the seminar with activities such as college fairs, speakers or SAT workshops.

Hemmings Motor News encourages all parents, teachers, students and employers to sponsor First Day of School programs. These programs, which declare the first day of school a "holiday," promote parent involvement in education by allowing working parents time (paid or unpaid) to meet teachers and support their children as they start a new school year. Last year, 11 towns, 120 employers and more than 1,000 parents were involved in the First Day of School programs in southwestern Vermont.

Examples of resource donation	Computers; money; equipment; materials; donations; information; curriculum expertise; skill building
Business objectives/ outcomes	Promote internal and external public relations around company image Provide opportunities for further involvement (the "getting to know you" stage) Build new relationships (this could include new stakeholders with different agendas and work style)
School objectives/outcomes	Increase resources to meet school goals Promote curriculum development and management skills Provide technology resources and information

United Technologies Corporation contributes financial and technical support to provide Internet access to all public schools and public libraries in Hartford, Connecticut. Each school is provided with an Internet connection kit, a telephone/modem line, phone line maintenance costs for one year and Internet training for teachers.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia, aims to increase teaching resources available to schools, to improve student understanding of American history and to expose children to possible careers. The Foundation matches a team of five to seven employees with a team of teachers and administrators in each of the schools. The combined teams meet monthly to discuss and plan activities for students.

SAS Institute employees in Cary, North Carolina, participated in NetDay '97, a one-day statewide, volunteer effort to wire every public and private school for Internet access. The effort has been expanded to teach students about the operation of computer networks.

Pizza Hut Corporation founded the BOOK IT!© National Reading Incentive Program, which encourages children nationwide to read and rewards them for their reading efforts. The program has been expanded to inspire children to read during the summer, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education's initiative Read*Write*Now! Children who participate are encouraged to read 30 minutes a day and with a reading partner at least once or twice a week, learn a new vocabulary word a day and obtain, and use, a library card.

The Nabisco Food Group a division of RJR Nabisco, sponsors "Summer Reading Adventure," a program that encourages employees to read with their children during the summer vacation.

Examples of business/ school programs	Adopt-a-school programs; school-to-work programs; on-site schools; mentoring programs; literacy programs
Business objectives/ outcomes	Prepare students for business careers Improve employee productivity and company loyalty Become a valuable community asset
School objectives/outcomes	Improve academic achievement Reduce dropout rates Increase college enrollment

United Airlines has "adopted" fifty sixth-grade students in an inner city elementary school in Chicago, Illinois. The company will continue a partnership with these students until they graduate from high school, and has pledged to pay up to four years tuition and fees at any state university for each student. The students, who are called "Believers," are paired with a United Airlines employee, who commits to spending time with the student twice a month for at least one year.

In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, RJR Nabisco funds the Downtown School, an elementary school that makes parent involvement an integral part of children's learning experiences. It is the mission of the school to "implement a challenging instructional program that is complemented by sound pedagogy, the innovative use of technology, and the active participation of parents, guardians, and community members in children's learning." Parents who want their children to attend the Downtown School must agree to volunteer for one hour per week per child. Parents employed by RJR Nabisco are paid for the time they spend at school. During the 1992-93 school year, parents volunteered for 9,350 hours.

United Parcel Service/School-to-Work program provides an opportunity for high school students to make a successful transition from school to work and/or school to postsecondary education. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, there are currently 27 high schools, 6 county areas, and approximately 300 students who are participating in the program. Students work in package handling for approximately 4 hours each day and receive high school credits with pay for work experience. UPS offers seven college courses at the work site via the local community college with mentors available to ensure success. Tuition and books are paid for by UPS upon student completion of a course. A few times each year, students can job shadow an employee working in a position or career that is of interest to them.

The Kentuckiana Cultural Consortium links cultural institutions (for example, ballet companies and orchestras) with schools, in order to enhance student learning experiences with these cultural resources. The primary focus of the organization is to share ideas about collaborative programs between schools and the many cultural resources in Kentucky and southern Indiana. The Consortium meets monthly to share current school and cultural center activities. Instructional materials and teacher workshops have been developed to reinforce the idea that cultural resources provide students with another avenue for learning and enriching classroom experiences.

One component of the adopt-a-school effort of the Gannett Co., Inc. is a "Lunch Buddy" program. Employees spend time each week doing various activities with their lunch buddies, such as helping with homework, eating lunch together, talking about concerns or issues or just being a caring adult.

Examples of Stakeholder/ Community-wide Collaborations	Family-school-business partnerships; school-based community centers; corporate-school partnerships that include the community
Business objectives/ outcomes	Improve the quality of K-12 education Enhance brand recognition and loyalty Be a good corporate citizen Send the message that school performance has meaning beyond the classroom by promoting the use of student records in hiring practices
School objectives/outcomes	Reduce incidents of school violence Raise academic and skill standards Attend to social and emotional needs of students Increase attendance and reduce truancy

Eli Lilly and Company has started science camps which benefit working parents and their children during summer vacation. The first camp, which is on-site at Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, serves 350 children of employees. Lilly found the space, including the buildings and the pool, the YMCA came in and ran the camp, and Lilly scientists developed a science curriculum for campers. The science camp has been replicated at two additional sites. However, instead of limiting the science camps to Lilly employees, it is open to all children in the community. This is one example of a partnership that has tremendous benefits to the whole community-Lilly employees and their families, Lilly customers, other area employers as well as families and children in the community.

Mentor Graphics supports the "Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics" program at Saturday Academy. This program has created a regional network of science and technology practitioners, educators, parents and community organizations committed to enriching opportunities in science and mathematics for middle and high school women. Saturday Academy, sponsored by the Oregon Graduate Institute in Portland, Oregon, offers a variety of challenging math and science classes and programs to interested students in grades 5-12.

The mission of the Merck Institute for Science Education is to improve the quality of science and mathematics education from kindergarten through eighth grade. The Institute works closely with faculty, administration and community leaders in four school districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to enhance science education in the elementary grades. Teachers are matched with Merck scientists to help them gain confidence in their ability to teach science and participate in the Leader Teacher Institute, a three-year professional development program for teachers focused on a central science theme, math-related topics and supporting technology. The Institute also works on education reform geared toward creating scientifically proficient teachers, maintains two resource centers which offer state-of-the-art teaching materials and provides policy support to promote systemic change.

The IBM Corporation and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina have developed a community partnership which encourages increased parental participation in their children's education. By providing state of the art technology equipment, the partnership has increased home-school communication via electronic mail that can be used to check homework assignments, review work completed by the children, as well as monitor a child's overall progress. Families who don't have computers at home can use school computer labs which are open days, evenings and weekends. Computers are also available at neighborhood sites, such as the library or public housing projects. IBM provides training on using the computer equipment.

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[Business Guide Addendum]

[Designing Strategic Educational Approaches]