Kids are everybody's business in Hammond, Indiana - Hammond Triad Partnership program that involves business sponsorship of educational programs and services - includes bibliography

Business Horizons, Sept-Oct, 1993 by Thomas C. Knarr, Kay Dell Knarr

President Clinton's highly touted economic summit in December 1992 elicited advice and input from all segments of U.S. society on how to accelerate economic recovery and restore and maintain the nation's pre-eminence in global competition. Business and industrial leaders opined that the nation's future work force needs to be better prepared to enter the international job market, suggesting that a closer relationship between the business community and the public schools is paramount if the nation's competitive goals are to be realized. In his campaign, Clinton declared the business community's role in public education "crucial." Then-President Bush urged a "concerted effort" for school reform by all members of a community, including business.

German experts, reflecting on their own successful business/student industrial and commercial apprenticeships, have suggested that President Clinton can increase public pressure on U.S. industry by making corporate involvement in education a political issue by threatening tax increases for non-compliers - something the German government did 15 years ago.

The 25-year-old National Alliance of Business (NAB), representing more than 200 of the nation's largest corporations, and its older lobbying rival, the Chamber of Commerce, have also given business education partnerships a high priority. The NAB has organized its seventh annual business-education forum to expand private-sector influence on matters of educational collaborations.

Indeed, the significance of partnerships among public schools, business, and government can hardly be overstated. in the School City of Hammond, Indiana, another kind of unique partnership exists between union and management. Setting aside a history of confrontation, both sides at the bargaining table agreed in 1981 to embrace the school-based management process, or shared governance. The special relationship that developed between management and labor has encouraged the business community to become more involved in and supportive of educational reforms in the Hammond schools.

PARTNERSHIPS

The reputation of the Hammond Partnership Triad - which includes representatives of the public schools, the business community, and the city government - extends beyond state and national boundaries. In 1992, at the First International Partnership Conference in Birmingham, England, it became apparent that the Hammond team effort exceeded those of other participating agencies and nations. Immediately following that conference, the team accepted an invitation to Paris for a meeting with business leaders and educators to establish partnerships and a "Sister City" program with a similar French community. The Hammond business community funded the journey.

The Hammond Partnership Triad program represents the full spectrum of business involvement and interest in public education - from small independent companies to multinational corporations. The partnerships cover a wide range of programs, including gifted/talented, special/handicapped, regular curricula, environmental, multicultural, and community awareness. This article explores a few of those partnerships.

Hughes Aircraft

The Hughes Aircraft Company has made a philanthropic commitment to public education by originating and providing seed money for the Galaxy Classroom project. Lafayette Elementary School in Hammond has been designated as a pilot school for the project, along with 37 other elementary schools located in low-income urban and rural areas throughout the U.S. and one in Mexico. Sharing the common denominator of poverty, many of these students are considered to be most "at risk" of not reaching their educational potential.

By equipping kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms with modern communications technology, the Galaxy project will enhance the teacher's basic curriculum, adding a new dimension to learning by allowing students across the country to share their ideas and experiences. As a Hughes press release noted:

We've targeted students from kindergarten through fifth grade because studies show that this is where the highest payoff for an educational investment occurs. These are the years when attitudes toward learning and school are being developed. Those who are doing poorly are typically placed into "low groups" - and have the greatest tendency to drop out later in their school careers.

Hughes, with support from the National Science Foundation and other industrial foundations, has designed the curriculum, launched the satellite, and equipped the classrooms with satellite terminals, televisions, VCRs, fax machines, and telephones. Principals, teachers, and parents have been trained at the University of Southern California to use and apply the equipment; additional training is scheduled in other locations.

Lafayette Elementary School was selected from 175 applicants. According to Galaxy president Norm Avrech, selection criteria included the dedicated leadership of teachers and principals working against a backdrop of ethnic diversity, low funding, and a sense of isolation. More than 300 educators, writers, and producers contributed to the unique design of this program. Beyond the demonstration phase, which will conclude in 1994, and upon completion of a comprehensive evaluation, the project is expected to be in thousands of elementary schools by the late 1990s, completely free of advertising or commercials.