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 CenturyAUBURN 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.