Covering the business of education and training

The US Department of Education gives 18 practical steps that businesses, not schools can take to make sure the students in their communities are prepared for the 21st century.

Here are eighteen steps that can be taken:

 1.     Find out about your State's math and science requirements for high school graduation.

 2.     Encourage students to take four years of math and four years of science, even if it is not required.

 3.     Find out what kind of critical language courses are offered and encourage schools to offer them students to take them.

 4.     Find out what kind of AP (Advanced Placement) courses your community's schools are offering. Encourage them to do so. Offer to sponsor or promote AP programs in your local schools.

 5.     Find out what percent of students in your community's schools are taking AP courses. Encourage students to take these courses.

 6.     Find out if all the teachers in your community's schools are "highly qualified." Find out if the math and science teachers have degrees in their field.

 7.     If teachers are not qualified, make sure the district and school have a plan in place to help them become highly qualified.

 8.     Encourage teachers to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative through the Teacher-to-Teacher website, http://www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative, they can participate in free eLearning professional development courses, sign up for regular email updates on teacher-related issues, and learn about what the Department is doing to support teachers.

 9.     Find out if your State allows the Department's free eLearning courses to count toward professional development credit and meeting the "highly qualified" requirements? Find out at: http://www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.

10.     Encourage teachers to participate in the Department's free Teacher-to-Teacher professional development workshops. Find out more about these workshops at: http://www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.

11.     Find out if your community's high schools have a program that allows well-qualified individuals outside the public education system to teach courses in high need areas. If they do, encourage your employees who have skills in math, science, or critical languages to teach a course at a local high school.

12.     Find out if there are schools in your community that are "in need of improvement." Make sure there is a plan in place to help these schools improve.

13.     Find out if any schools are in the "restructuring" phase. Make sure there is a plan for turning the school around.

14.     Find out if school districts in your community are receiving any competitive NCLB grants, such as: Early Reading First, Striving Readers, Teaching American History, Improving Literacy Through School Libraries, etc.

15.     Encourage school districts in your community to apply for all the NCLB grants for which they are eligible. A list of discretionary grants is available at: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps.

16.     Find out if parents in your community are receiving report cards on their children's schools. Make sure they easy to understand.

17.     Find out what school districts and community groups are doing to inform parents of their options. See what you can do to help.  

18.     Find out how many eligible children in your community are taking advantage of public school choice and free SES. Encourage parents to take advantage of these new opportunities

Nearly every business has employees with a kid or kids in school. If every business took action, it would make a difference.

What do you think?