Julie Durham

Employees need to have good critical thinking skills to be successful in the workplace.  Real life application and connections help learners improve these skills.  IDEALS was an awesome tool presented to work on problem solving.  

Board member retention is important for the success of your program and can be achieved by little acts:  certificates or plaques, a press release, inviting members to attend school and community events, including business member links on school website, and more. This year, I will make an effort to recognize our members each quarter in our school community.  When people feel valued they are willing to give more and work harder which will contribute to the success of our advisory.  

Estabilishing ground rules is essential to running a successful meeting.  Each member should know what is expected of them and the rules of the meeting.  Encouraging everyone to speak and giving them the opportunity to do so is key.  Be constructive rather than criticizing.  Use an agenda to be consise and stay on track.  Getting the agenda out in advance to all members is something I will implement this year to hopefully help all members feel prepared and organized.  

Communication is key.  Reaching out with reminders two weeks in advance with an agenda, then again a week prior, sharing minutes after the meeting, and encouraging communication inbetween meetings will help participation stay high and members feel included and engaged.  All will benefit your advisory.  

This section validated what my organization has already been doing.   We are at a good starting place.  Our business CTE adviorsry board includes business professionals, admin, teachers, students ,and parents who all come together to figure out how to make our programming better.  We are working on providing curicumlum that reflects industry standards, working around the needs of the labor market, incoporating mentorships and internships, providing expertise in various fields, and interaction between our school and community industries.  

I found it interesting in this module the effectiveness of text messaging and how much it is used.  It's a mindshift from the generation I grew up in.

I also like that when an intern is hired after completing an internship with a company they are 40% more likely to retained as an employee after 5 years.  It's a benefit to both parties. 

I learned that employer relationships are extremely important but not always easy to cultivate.  You must be clear about what it is you need.  You must ask for feedback and be willing to apply it.  You need to figure out what they employer needs and then work together collaboratively to create and maintain a relationship that benefits both parties.  

I learned the importance and relevance of social media advertising.  It has risen over the last few years dramatically and reaches a wide audience.  Outreach through social media is very different than what I grew up learning but seems to be a sucessful tool I'm willing to try.  I also learned ways to avoid the brush off and being prepared with a stance and a pitch.  

What have you learned from this module and how do you intend to apply it? Take a few minutes to post your response and learn more from your peers.

I learned that employer engagement is key.  Creating and maintaing advisory boards and buy in from community stakeholders is crucial to understanding the needs of the local workforce and how to best prepare students to meet the.  The relationships with those trusted business partners can turn into internship, mentorship, job shadowing, employment, classroom speakers, and more to benefit the education of our learners and help prepare them for life outside… >>>