Successful School-Business-Community Partnerships

Tushnet (1993) offers the following keys to establishing and maintaining successful partnerships:

• "Partnerships should be developed if there is a shared concern about a real problem that can best be addressed by organizations from different sectors working together.

• Beginning a successful partnership requires communication among potential participants about:

• The nature of the concerns that led to the idea of developing a partnership.
• Whether a partnership is a good way to address those concerns.
• The organization of the partnership.
• The specific roles and responsibilities of partners.
• The content and focus of partnership activities.

Once a partnership is formed, others are told about the plans.

• In successful partnerships, leadership builds commitment and gathers resources. The resources are used to help participants become comfortable with and adept at new ways of performing.

• Successful educational partnerships use evaluation and strategic and adaptive planning to ensure that activities meet local needs and conditions.

• Successful partnerships acknowledge and confront problems, using them as the opportunity to build relationships among partners." (p. xi)

References