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Chrysler Corporation Partners With the Michigan Dept of Education

6 November 1998

Chrysler Corporation Partners With the Michigan Department of Education - 'Making Connections' for the 21st Century

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 6 -- Chrysler Corporation
, The Michigan Department of Education, and the Michigan Business
Leaders for Education (MBLEE) have joined forces in a celebration of learning.
They have created a first-of-its-kind academic program -- MAKING CONNECTIONS
-- an integrated approach to curriculum to bridge the gap between the
classroom and the workplace to help students prepare for work in the 21st
Century.
    "We have teamed with Chrysler Corporation and the Michigan Department of
Education in a program to engage students in non-traditional learning
techniques which will better prepare them for the workforce," said Jim Sandy,
Executive Director of MBLEE.
    MAKINGS CONNECTIONS is a three-year project which allows the business
community, labor leaders, parents, and educators to work together in
developing integrated curriculum models to provide educators the tools to
connect academic and workplace skills in the classroom.
    The program was developed through contributions from the Michigan
Curriculum Framework Joint Steering Committee.  The committee includes
representation from local businesses, education, government, labor, and
parents.
    The pilot program began last summer with five school districts -- Forest
Hills, Novi, Warren Consolidated, Waterford, and Wyoming -- focused on
integrating four core academic areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and
social studies with a career pathway.  Each district provided a teaching team
at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and implemented a pilot
design of the program last school year.  In addition to the pilot schools, the
Southeast Michigan Consortium, a collaborative effort of school districts, and
The Jackson Intermediate School Districts are also working with local schools
to implement the program this year.
    "The program focuses on career development -- connecting people, ideas and
community to better equip students with academic and workplace skills for the
21st Century," said Valerie Becker, Chrysler Corporation National Education
Programs Administrator.  "This program is based on the model developed by
Kathleen Harris of Sonoma State University, Sonoma, Calif.  MAKING CONNECTIONS
has been replicated by other schools, and motivates students to move from a
'forced to learn' to a 'want to learn' mentality," she said.
    "Michigan is the first state ever to have created this type of partnership
with the potential for nationwide implementation.  MAKING CONNECTIONS is a
win-win program -- designed by educators, supported by business and
implemented by local districts," said Becker.