Impact

The impact of partner engagement is most evident in our students and their schoolwork, and we invite you to visit any of our facilities for a tour. Following are spotlights of two of our partners. This section will be updated with new impact evidence and partner spotlights, so please visit frequently.

Design Lab Early College High School Partner Spotlight

Tri-C
Flexibility + Enthusiasm = A Beautifully Designed Partnership

The unique partnership between Design Lab and Tri-C offers students access to world-class college-level design instruction from the start of high school.

The dynamic leadership team of Dr. Michael Schoop and Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Peggy Bradford works closely with Design Lab teachers and carefully selects Tri-C educators best suited to the task of teaching high school students. They further collaborate closely with Design Lab administrators to work through a myriad of challenges most notably the drastically different calendars followed by each academic organization.

Nearly all Design Lab 10th graders will end their sophomore year with college credits from Tri-C thanks to a partnership that brought an innovative agenda, extraordinary flexibility and passionate people together with the singular purpose to improve educational opportunities for the children of Northeast Ohio.

MC²STEM High School Partner Spotlight

GE: An Award-Winning Partnership

Many incredibly generous GE employees, along with the full-time GE liaison Andrea Timan, provide literally hundreds of hours every month in direct student engagement at MC²STEM High School through four different programs:

• Job-shadowing which allows students to see GE employees from every department (project management, pricing, sourcing, human resources, legal and technology) in a work setting drawing a link between what they learn in school and how it relates to different career choices.
• The sophomore project which guides student teams through development of a new product from concept and brainstorming through to fabrication and marketing. The capstone of the class is an end-of-year “trade show” at which students will “sell” their product.
• Lunch buddies allow informal mentoring between professionals and students.
• Lunch with the CEO, which awards 8 teacher-nominated students the opportunity for a private lunch hosted by Mr. Michael Petras. Students are selected based on exhibiting outstanding personal achievement as well as exemplary behavior.

The GE program has been so successful that it has been recognized by GE Global Corporate as the 2009 “Impact Award” winner beating out 3,200 other GE volunteer programs worldwide. “Having the STEM program at Nela Park has energized our campus,” according to Andrea Timan. “The program has encouraged more employees to get involved and…they frequently comment on how impressed they are with the students. It is really a very enriching program for everyone involved.”