ABOUT US

 

What Is The Partnership?

The Business/Education Partnership of Sangamon County was developed in late 2005 by an ad hoc committee of community leaders convened by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Through its deliberations, mission and vision statements were drafted, as well as agreements reached to hire an executive director and to appoint an advisory board.

The BEP board functions under a set of Operational Guidelines and is a county-wide coalition of businesses, unions, community-based organizations, and education interests (K-16, private and public). Mikal Sutton, The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Director of Workforce & Medical Development, serves as Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for the administration of the Partnership and its programs and initiatives.

Advisory Board Meetings

The Advisory Board meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. at the offices of The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce located at 1011 South Second Street. The Board does not meet in the months of June and December.

Meet the 2011 Advisory Board

How Are We Organized?

An advisory board meets monthly and is comprised of an Executive Committee and four standing committees: Partners In Education; Careers; Achievement; and Public Policy.

What Are We Doing?

Draft Action Plan:

Partners in Education Committee

The BEP will be the leader in developing business and civic partnerships for P-12 schools throughout Sangamon County.  We will do this through:

• Working closely with Continuum of Learning, the educational community, business, labor and other stakeholders to encourage and support ongoing partnerships designed for workforce development.
• Defining Partnerships between business and schools
  • Building a database of partnerships
  • Creating guidelines for partnerships
• Create and co-manage Business Education Week with Continuum of Learning through:
• Expanded Principal for a Day program
• Create Business Professionals in the Classroom
• Expanded Partners in Excellence event

Careers Committee

The BEP will work with partners to expose all students to career opportunities in Sangamon County.  We will do this through:

• Promoting a collaborative environment between P-16 education, workforce training institutions and business to identify emerging jobs and training offerings that align with the needs of our region’s target industries
• Work with higher education to address training needs in Q5’s targeted clusters (Financial and Professional Services, Advanced Medical Care, Tourism, Logistics)
• Develop college internship opportunities through partnerships with higher education and Young Springfield Professionals Network (YSPN)
• Actively promote and distribute the Workplace Skills DVD to area high schools in Sangamon County

Achievement Committee

The BEP will be a leading advocate for improving student achievement in Sangamon County.  We will do this through:

• Supporting efforts to eliminate achievement gaps in learning that exist because of socio-economic factors.
• Continue to coordinate Focus on the Future Scholarships
• Explore the poverty issues and the effect on achievement in Sangamon County
• Investigate existing programs that address poverty issues in Sangamon County

Public Policy Committee

The BEP will be the leading private sector partner on public policy impacting P-16 education.  We will do this through:

• Working directly with Sangamon county schools to appropriately focus our efforts on substantive policy initiatives benefiting students throughout the county
• Focus policy efforts on the following issues:
• School funding
• School facilities
• School reform (curriculum)
• Produce public forums to discuss policy initiatives, i.e. Save Our Schools
• Continue to present legislative positions on issues related to BEP's mission and vision to the appropriate local, state, and federal lawmakers.