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E + E =
Prosperity Summit brings school and business advocates
together
Mohawk Sacandaga School Boards Association sponsors event
seeking collaborative answers to challenges facing regional
schools and businesses
OCTOBER 27, 2011 - The time for communities to work together to
create sustainable schools and a vibrant local economy has come,
according to HFM BOCES District Superintendent Dr. Patrick
Michel.
An
Education and Economic Development Summit exploring local
collaboration, and creating an action plan toward a cooperative,
prosperous future will take place from 6:00 – 9:30 pm on
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011 at HFM BOCES Conference Center.
“Until we recognize that education and business must work
together we will never fashion the future we desire for our
communities and children,” Dr. Michel said in announcing the
summit.
Sponsored by the Mohawk Sacandaga School Boards Association, HFM
BOCES, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, the Fulton County
Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery County Chamber
of Commerce, the summit invites parents, students, educators,
business leaders and elected officials to participate.
The
event is comprised of three, hour-long work sessions, each
offering 11 targeted discussion groups tackling major issues
facing the regions schools and business community.
“‘Less talk, more action’ is the slogan for the evening. We are
not getting together to wring hands and bemoan the circumstances
in which we live,” Dr. Michel said. “This is a work session that
will focus on real solutions toward consolidation and
collaboration.”
Workshop topics include Creating Sustainable Links,
Opportunities for Consolidation, and Preparing Students to
Prosper in the 21st Century Workforce and College.
Each topic area features specific small group discussions about
workforce expectations, apprenticeship programs, consolidation
between schools and municipalities, regional high schools and
sports programs, transportation, music and arts programs, the
bridge between public school and higher education, and the
displaced workforce.
Participants choose the topics they wish to engage, and
facilitated discussions debate the options and opportunities,
resulting in lists of workable ideas and solutions.
All
11 workshops repeat each hour, allowing participants to select
three sessions and engage in three separate discussions. While
the topics repeat each hour, the changing faces in each session
should develop new lines of discussion, leading to fresh, new
ideas, according to Dr. Michel.
The
Education and Economic Development Summit is an official meeting
of the Mohawk Sacandaga School Boards Association, and the
response to an earlier call to action from the group.
“The association created a committee framework to implement the
action plans that emerge from this summit,” Dr. Michel
explained. “We have invited our elected officials and local
leaders to participate, and urge anyone who is motivated toward
a revitalization of this region to take part in the event.”
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