Partners in Education - Business, Community and Schools Working Together

Partners In Education | Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become a Partner In Education with a school?

Becoming a Partner In Education with a public school in Broward County is easy. If you already selected a school, just give them a call. Always start by calling the Principals office. He or she will refer you to the person assigned to partnerships at the school site. Each partnership is individually negotiated between the business / community organization and the school. Go with an open mind to see how your organization can help. Remember the focus of partnerships is always student achievement and working to achieve the School Improvement Goal. Partnership activities must align with the school’s goals or they will be rejected. Partnerships are not a marketing opportunity.

The Partners In Education Handbook has some valuable tools for new partnerships and is available for download on this website. It includes a Business Resources Assessment that you can complete and bring with you to your first meeting with a school. It also has an Employee Interest Inventory that may be helpful as you assess resources. If you are not sure where your effort would be of most value, call Partners In Education. Well work with you to evaluate your resources and help you select a school.

Can I partner with several schools?

In a word, yes. Several organizations, particularly those with many employees and/or multiple locations, have several school partnerships. Partnering with many schools can be handled in one of two ways. If you intend to develop an individual relationship with each school, than just follow the steps for starting a partnership.

If, however, you developed a packaged program either an incentive or curriculum program and you are offering that program to multiple schools, then you should send the program to the Superintendents Screening Committee. Mail or fax your program to:

Superintendents Screening Committee
600 SE Third Ave., 7th Floor
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33301
754-321-1974

My school partner told me they could not use the discount coupons I offered?
Why not?

Broward County Public Schools and Partners In Education, Inc. recognize the value of short term and long-range motivation for students. It is the philosophy of the school district, however, that an incentive is only truly an award if it does not require an additional purchase. Buy one, get one free; buy an adult meal, get the students meal free; percentage off discounts; and similar programs are not considered rewards and schools are advised not to participate in these programs. Broward County Public Schools believes that these offers violate the intent of the Advertising Policy 6300. Discount coupons and additional purchase coupons are frequently used by businesses for advertising and as such these offers are inappropriate as student rewards. In addition, discount type programs are considered inequitable, as many students and their families may be unable to take advantage of the offer.

Working with your school partner, restructure the offer to make the coupon a true reward for student academic achievement.

I have a small business. How can I help?

Many small businesses have successful partnerships with schools. The key is to know your limitations going into the relationship and committing to attainable activities that support student achievement. Schools are very focused on the Florida FCAT and partnership activities need to help students reach higher levels of achievement whether you provide volunteer time or financial (cash or in-kind) support. Many activities don’t require an inordinate amount of time or, if time intensive, don’t require many people. For example, programs requiring little time on the part of the business partner include: contributing product to a schools incentive program(s) such as BUGs Bringing Up Grades; Math Superstars; A or A/B honor roll, or any other recognition program that the school has to reward or encourage student achievement; Participating in Career Day; Judging academic\fairs. Other activities may require time, but don’t require many people one volunteer is welcome. Currently, more than 100 schools have an active Youth Mentor program. While the program does ask you to commit to one hour per week for the school year, it does not require you to have more than one or two people involved. You could provide service time through the schools Volunteer Program. There are many opportunities at each school level -- elementary, middle and high -- for people to fill. For example, elementary schools periodically use volunteers to read aloud to kindergarten students. This is not only fun, but shows students that you think reading is important.