George Pawlas's
PR for PRincipals...

Building Business Partnerships

Developing business partnerships is a growing trend in American education. Many school districts and state departments of education require school administrators to have a local business representative on the school's advisory committee.

There are a number of things you can do to develop a strong working relationship between you and businesses in your school attendance area. Some of those ideas include

• holding your faculty (family) meeting in local business meeting rooms;
• touring the business facilities;
• inviting business leaders to come to your school for breakfast or lunch; and
• involving the businesses in helping teach or mentor students.

As you talk with business leaders, other ideas that fit your community and school attendance area are sure to come to light. In addition, be sure to enlist the interest and help of parents of children who might be the business partners you are seeking. Don't forget to mention your business partners in your principal's newsletter and on the school's Web site. That's an effective strategy for maintaining current partnerships and forging new ones.

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