The Saginaw County Business & Education Partnership provides the
following opportunities and services to Saginaw County Schools:

Career Ladders
The Career Ladders initiative provides career preparation tools that include videos, brochures, and lesson plans highlightling the hardest to fill occupations in health care and advanced manufacturing within the Saginaw Valley. Additional industries will be highlighted in the future. The materials are being used by students in all 13 local school districts and all six Saginaw/Midland/Bay Michigan Works! centers.

Opportunity Connection
Opportunity Connection is a web-based database listing career preparation opportunities provided by businesses and community volunteers such as Speakers in the Classroom, Career Fairs, Job Shadowing, Field Trips, and Tutoring. In its first year of operation, the Opportunity Connection had over 10,000 hits. The website address is: www.scbep.org.

Saginaw Valley Regional Institute
The Regional Institute is a 4-day workshop for educators in Bay, Midland, Saginaw and Tuscola counties. During the highly interactive workshop, educators learn about the skills and expectations of the current and future workforce. As part of the Institute, participants write a lesson plan to be used in their classroom incorporating what they learned. Over 100 educators participate annually.

Coaching & Strategic Planning
School coaching and strategic planning assistance is provided to the school districts using a results driven and customer-focused process. The SCBEP staff facilitates strategic planning sessions for several local school districts, as well as coaches school boards, administrators, and district improvement teams on how to improve their district’s results.

School Counts!
Led by the SCBEP, School Counts! is an initiative where employers ask potential employees for their transcripts as part of the hiring process. Locally, over 280 businesses ask for the transcripts, and by doing so they are sending a clear message to students that what they do in school really matters.

State Scholars
State Scholars is a State of Michigan initiative designed to ensure that high school graduates are successfully prepared for post secondary education and training, as well as for good jobs, by taking more rigorous classes. The SCBEP is assisting in the implementation of the program and is recruiting leaders from the business community to help motivate students to take the more rigorous classes and become recognized as a Michigan Scholar. Saginaw Public Schools has been selected as a pilot school district along with Lansing Public Schools and the Howell School District. If the pilot goes well, then other Saginaw County Schools will be invited to participate in the initiative.

Reading Buddies
Reading Buddies is an initiative to have all students read at grade level by the end of third grade. To help reach that goal, 300 Reading Buddies are being recruited to read to a first, second or third grade student that is being challenged by reading. Two years ago, 50% of the 4th grade students scored proficient on the MEAP test. Last year, 65% scored proficient. With the combined efforts of the teachers, students, parents, and the community volunteers, a 15% improvement was made possible.

© 2006, Saginaw County Business & Education Partnership