2009 Model Partnerships
Learn how to establish a partnership with Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
Bryant and Stratton College and Virginia Beach Central Academy
Working together, Bryant and Stratton College and Virginia Beach Central Academy are focused on four main partnership objectives: to increase the self-esteem of at-risk high school students; to make students aware of post-secondary educational opportunities; to increase students’ employment, educational and life skills; and to increase community involvement in and awareness of at-risk students in Virginia Beach. To that end, Bryant and Stratton representatives serve as guest speakers, support the GEMS (Girls with Empowering Minds and Spirits) Club, provide “life skills” sessions, volunteer as mentors, host a senior picnic, and support the Reading Initiative program. Partnership coordinator Jane Dearborn writes, “The Bryant and Stratton staff members are tireless in their efforts to provide learning and growth opportunities to students who are often left behind because of problems and circumstance. It is obvious that working with at-risk students is right up their alley and that they enjoy giving back to the community and helping our young people.”
ECPI College of Technology and Green Run High School
For over a decade, ECPI College of Technology has supported Green Run High School. Students have a standing invitation to attend ECPI workshops free of charge, and the college donates materials and scholarships annually. ECPI representatives serve as guest speakers on topics such as college and career planning, résumé writing, and communication skills. Students benefit from the college’s technical expertise as well. Several professors and current students worked with marketing students to create their own digital portfolios using ECPI’s portable Apple Technology Lab. Marketing teacher Kerri Sabo writes, “ECPI has engaged our students in hands-on workshops that teach them not only the emerging multimedia technology-user proficiencies, but also how to create their own content. This ultimately prepares them for different types of media used to communicate in our evolving digital world.”
King’s Grant Presbyterian Church and Malibu Elementary School
For many years, King’s Grant Presbyterian Church has been an important community partner to Malibu Elementary School. Church members donate school supplies to help all students have the necessary supplies to be ready to learn each day. During the holidays, the church’s generous donations provide Christmas gifts for students in need. The church has also provided the means for fifth-graders to attend a one-week summer camp they would not otherwise have been able to attend. Most notably, several members participate in the school’s Lunch Buddies program, visiting every week to have lunch with their mentees. Malibu guidance counselor Katie Taylor writes, “This connection with a caring adult has made a significant impact on student success both academically and socially. Never underestimate the impact and difference one can make by showing a child you care.” King’s Grant Presbyterian Church’s ongoing contributions of human and material resources allow students to know the generosity of a community that cares about them and their well being.
LandMark Design Group and Luxford Elementary School
When asked about their involvement with Luxford Elementary School’s Dragon Trail, LandMark Design Group representatives are quick to point out that dozens of organizations contributed to the creation of the run/walk track. However, school representatives point to LandMark as being key to the project’s success by spearheading the design process and donating nearly $50,000 worth of services. “The gift that LandMark Design Group has given the school and the community is truly priceless,” writes Julie Voliva, former Luxford PTA President. “LandMark was key in bringing a community together to accomplish this project. The sense of pride by the school and community after finishing such a large project successfully is immeasurable.” While there are obvious fitness benefits, the use of the trail is integrated into other subjects at Luxford. Students track their miles and create graphs for math. In social studies, first graders are comparing the number of miles they have run to the total distance from Virginia Beach to Richmond and Washington, DC. Fourth-graders are writing about their run/walk experiences in Dragon Trail Journals. And students are not the only ones making the most of the Dragon Trail. The fitness track that was a community endeavor is open to the public for its use after school hours.
Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command and Bayside Elementary School
Volunteers from the Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command are helping enhance instructional programs and fostering positive, supportive relationships at Bayside Elementary School. Command staff volunteer as tutors and mentors, offering academic assistance and serving as positive role models to students. Assisting at special events, such as the Book Fair, Fall Festival and Reading Night, they participate in and help manage various activities. By encouraging high achievement and excellent behavior in students, these military mentors are supporting teachers and staff. First-grade teacher Leatha Fischer writes, “Always ready to do any task, the volunteers are kind, enthusiastic and diligent. Keeping the children as a focus, the volunteers are devoted to helping the students succeed. The joy and excitement that the students express when spending time with their mentors is a testament to the positive impact that this partnership has on our students.”
Oceanfront Jaycees and W. T. Cooke Elementary School
From Tardy-Free Tuesdays and Mystery Field Trips to holiday baskets and Polar Express Night, the Oceanfront Jaycees are supporting W.T. Cooke Elementary School students and their families in a variety of ways. Thanks to the Jaycees, classes that have no tardy students are rewarded with popsicles on Tuesdays, and the class with the best attendance each quarter is awarded a special field trip that remains a surprise until students arrive at their destination. Both programs have helped improve attendance. “Once students realized they could be the winners of these prizes,” writes partnership coordinator Laura Beth Lawver, “they made a bigger effort to get to school each day and to be on time.” Polar Express Night brought families together to share dinner at the school and then board their very own Polar Express for a viewing of the Holiday Lights at the Beach – all free of charge. The Jaycees also provide holiday food baskets for the neediest families, as well as volunteer their time to lend support on the first days of school and at special events.
Oceans of Success and Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Oceans of Success, initiated by Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.), Jack W. Drescher and Jeffrey A. Briet in 2004, celebrates the academic success of select students in Title I schools with an educational field trip to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in June. Students are selected by principals after demonstrating significant improvement over the course of the school year. Dr. Pamela McKinney, Director of Elementary School Education writes, “As a result of this partnership, students are encouraged to earn good grades, to achieve at high levels and to remain in school. The sponsors have served as motivators and benefactors for at-risk students.” To date, over 800 students have benefited from the Oceans of Success program with an additional 240 students participating in the program in June 2009. Judge Shadrick, who also manages a mentor program for third-graders at Seatack Elementary School says, “What I tell all of the mentors is that the greatest contribution we can make is to instill self confidence. If you can instill self confidence, you can encourage them and show them that they can do anything. A lot of these students are very bright, and it is a wasted resource in our society to let any of them fall by the wayside.”
Shmack Clothing and Tallwood High School
This partnership was initiated when Shmack Clothing supported Tallwood High School’s first fashion show. That first successful event has led to hands-on activities and real-world experiences for students with an internationally-renowned fashion company. Shmack Clothing representatives serve as guest speakers in fashion classes, speaking with students about the industry and sharing advice on starting a business, designing clothing, marketing strategies, and more. The students have worked with Shmack graphic designers to create their own clothes and visited the facilities for a better understanding of how the company operates. Principal Jobynia Caldwell writes, “Shmack Clothing has been generous with time, human resources, and products that have enhanced our marketing program, our school store, and our fashion shows. It is great to have a youthful partner as we try to motivate our students to dream and explore careers for the future. It has also been great for our students to see that a young company has an interest in its community and the education of students.”
Southside Harley Davidson and Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center
This mutually beneficial partnership provides unique learning opportunities to Technical and Career Education Center students and offers promising students as interns and future employees for Southside Harley Davidson. Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) students have multiple opportunities to train with equipment provided by the company – motorcycles, specialty tools, parts and manuals worth over $50,000. OPE instructor Ben Thomas explains that this partnership contributes to a learning experience that cannot be duplicated in the regular course curriculum. “The confidence that is instilled in our students because of Southside’s willingness to trust our students in their endeavors is immeasurable,” he writes. “The students see a relevance to their coursework and are given once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. They cultivate their workplace readiness skills by becoming part of a successful business endeavor that may lead to employment and/or post-secondary educational training.”
STIHL Inc. and Advanced Technology Center
This partnership has continued the Advanced Technology Center’s commitment to provide a well-trained workforce through maintaining a close connection with the business community. Thanks to this partnership, hundreds of students have been able to see the transition from the Engineering Technology classroom to the world of work in a modern manufacturing facility. In addition, STIHL representatives have served on advisory boards, been guest speakers and led worksite tours. STIHL has hired Engineering Technology graduates to enter its apprentice training program and is paying for their college education. Simon Nance, STIHL manager of training and development writes, “Our partnership with the ATC has not only helped us truly connect with the school system that is teaching today’s technologies, but it has also helped us develop our skilled workforce.”
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Birdneck Elementary School
Every Tuesday morning, more than a dozen volunteers from the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater may be found reading with select second-grade students at Birdneck Elementary School. Their goal is to help children acquire the reading skills necessary for personal and academic success. In the process of reading together, the volunteers become mentors to the students, which principal Irv Beard notes as a strength of this partnership. “As mentors,” he writes, “the volunteers spend as much time listening to their students as they do reading with them. This respect is something many of our children need to experience as they learn the life-skills of communication.” These caring adults also help the school as a whole by donating school supplies, supporting school projects like “Toys for Tots,” and contributing holiday gifts to one of the school’s families in need.
Virginia Beach Medical Society Alliance and Bayside Tri-Campus
The Virginia Beach Medical Society Alliance has helped foster a love of reading in Tri-Campus first graders through various activities. Volunteers visit each week to read with students to help develop literacy skills and build confidence in reading. The Alliance also donates books for students to take home, for the school to distribute at special events, and for teachers to build their classroom libraries. The organization enlists Santa’s help during the holidays to deliver one book to every first grader and candy canes to kindergarteners. Even more popular than Santa is One More Story, an online library of children’s literature which the Alliance purchased for use at Diamond Springs Elementary. Partnership coordinator Beth South says that this organization’s “role in reading engagement has been an important part in the growth of academic achievement of students.”
Virginia Tech PREP Program and Mathematics and Science Academy at Ocean Lakes High School
The Partnership for Research and Education in Plants (PREP) program provides high school students with the unique experience of partnering with university scientists on current research of substantial scope and importance. While growing plants from seeds provided by the PREP program, students share their observations with scientists through online notebooks, scientist visits, and/or videoconferences. Their work aids scientists who are working to discover the function of previously uncharacterized plant genes. The discoveries they make may ultimately contribute to advances in medicine, agriculture and industry. In describing the value of the partnership, Academy coordinator Ann Zingraff-Newton writes that “students are actively engaged and considered valued members of the research effort. Teachers also satisfy their investigative curiosities through the students’ research. This is a true demonstration that it takes a scientific community, not just one scientist, working collaboratively to further our knowledge of science in the 21st century.”
Virginia Wesleyan College and Bayside Tri-Campus
Virginia Wesleyan College (VWC) has been a dedicated partner to Bettie F. Williams Elementary School since 1986. Today, VWC supports all three Tri-Campus schools with volunteers from a variety of campus organizations working with students in class and after-school programs every week. College students serve as tutors and mentors who assist with reading activities and class projects. They assist with the Triple-E (Eagles Excel in Education) parental involvement program and the Galaxy after-school program. In addition, they planned a college tour for third graders and provided tickets to college basketball games on campus. Second-grade teacher Meghan Mosher says, “Our students benefit academically and socially from the small-group interaction with Virginia Wesleyan students. They are lucky to have the support of such caring volunteers.” School social workers Jeneshia Ferebee and Melissa Asaro add, “The Virginia Wesleyan students have volunteered their time as well as their ideas and energy. Their dedication to community service and education is remarkable!”
Virginia Wind Symphony and Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Salem High School
In the words of partnership coordinator Rosi Jones, the partnership between the Virginia Wind Symphony and the Visual and Performing Arts Academy (VPAA) is “hitting many high notes.” Through numerous “Meet the Maestro” clinics and various artistic residencies, VPAA students are growing academically and artistically as they interact with and learn from world-class musicians and composers. Students have been offered more than 100 hours in master class opportunities through the Virginia Wind Symphony, and Salem High School has hosted five major concert events bringing more than 3,000 arts patrons to campus the past year. In October 2008, as a result of its work with the symphony, the VPAA was awarded a Virginia Commission for the Arts Grant in cooperation with Old Dominion University. It sounds as though the Visual and Performing Arts Academy and the Virginia Wind Symphony make beautiful music together!