The Power of Partnership

I was reading an article recently that talked about the power of partnerships and why sometimes businesses are better together.  One particular sentence really struck a chord with my experience over the past year and a half working with Career Pathways and CTECH.  Paul Parisi, the President of PayPal Canada, said the greatest success comes when “opportunity drives collaboration.”  Where we experience this the most is in our business and industry relationships.  Here are a few specific instances that highlight the positive collaborations that have come about from chance opportunities.

McKinstry Engineering
Sometime last winter Superintendent Munoz bumped into a gentleman by the name of Ed from McKinstry Engineering at a conference.  They began talking about how to engage students in hands-on, real-life engineering and exchanged contact information.  This led to a meeting between Ed and myself during which he explained his story as a student and why he was interested in creating this partnership.  He also mentioned that his hope was to create a partnership template that his company could use in other areas of the country.  Fast forward six months and Ed’s willingness to drive from the Twin Cities every Thursday for a 70-minute class and his ability to secure guest instructors from all over the area have created an unprecedented opportunity for twelve Rochester students, four from each comprehensive high school.  These students come to CTECH once a week and learn directly from Engineers in all different areas of the profession.
 
Firefighter Mentorship
Every year our district partners with the Rochester Fire Department on fire prevention education at the elementary level.  This year a spin-off conversation started about a possible collaboration at the high school level that would prepare interested students for the statewide firefighter certification exam.  Over the course of several conversations we were able to create an opportunity through our existing mentorship program that will allow students to complete the bulk of the learning online and combine that with five days of onsite skills training with the Fire Department.  As a result of this collaboration we are able to provide this opportunity to our students at minimal cost.
 
Chick-fil-A
Just over a month ago one of the owner/operators of the Chick-fil-A Ear of Corn quick serve restaurant accidentally stopped into CTECH as she was looking for the Workforce Development Center located next door at the Heintz Center.  We informed her that we were a public high school facility and that we don’t post flyers, etc. for job openings.  As we chatted and exchanged niceties as typical Minnesotans do, it became clear that an opportunity to collaborate existed.  We ended up scheduling a follow-up and, after a quick email introduction, our Business Education instructors were able to have these franchise owners speak to their students.  Within a month, this chance opportunity provided a learning opportunity for each of our three high school Business programs and even resulted in, at last count, two students receiving job offers from Chick-fil-A.
 

These represent just a few of the many collaborations we have within RPS and there are more in the works!
 
Paul Parisi does a great job outlining the parameters that surround a solid business collaboration and it is my belief that these can be directly applied to the business and industry collaborations we continue to seek as a district.  I encourage all educators to keep your eyes and ears open for possible partnerships and when you recognize an opportunity remember the following:

• Identify the specific challenge you can solve together.
• Think outside the box to find unexpected expertise.
• Start with a shared goal.
• Lean into each other’s strengths.
• Place an emphasis on clear communication between partners.

And always remember that strategic partnerships benefit everyone involved!

This post brought to you by Brandon Macrafic, POSA focusing on Career & College Readiness and administrator at CTECH