Business, Social Agencies, and Education Institutions: Collaboration for Urban Education Needs.

Overview & Synopsis

The College of Education at the University of Akron (Ohio) approaches program delivery, service, research, and student diversity through collaborative efforts, which are complementary to and facilitated by an urban education program. The Decker Family Development Center is a collaborative project involving the university, the school district, a local hospital, and two social service agencies in an effort to provide comprehensive, coordinated medical, educational, and social support services. Personnel from a major corporation, students and teachers in an urban middle school, and faculty from the school of education collaborate in Business Education Alliance Reaches Schools (BEARS)--a project to enhance sixth graders' school learning through demonstration of the relevance of skills and subjects taught in schools and their application in the work place. The Minority Teacher Preparation Program (MTP2) recruits African Americans, provides teacher training, and places the teachers in local schools. Business Education Collaboration on Minorities in Education (BECOME) is a scholarship/loan program targeted to African Americans majoring in teacher education. Faculty from the College of Education have been awarded a grant to conduct an in-depth assessment with an adult literacy program--Principles of the Alphabetic Literacy System (PALS), a program in which the faculty continues to be involved. An 18-entry bibliography on collaboration is appended. (IAH)