Upper Valley Business and Education Partnership

In the Spotlight

UVBEP Receives Grant from Claremont Industrial Development Authority

Tom Norris, Claremont IDA, presents a check to UVBEP Program Assistant, Erin Sykes.

The Claremont Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has awarded the UVBEP the second installment of a $2,000 grant matching the Claremont School District's Partnership funding. At the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year, the Claremont School District became involved on an exploratory level with UVBEP. The businesses of the surrounding communities have benefited from the increased awareness of job opportunities and skills required within their organizations.

As a result of this partnership, Claremont students, educators, businesses and community members were able to participate in a variety of educational enhancement programs. These included:

CLiC (Connecting Learning in the Community): Each Claremont School has a CLiC Liaison with access to the UVBEP's directory of classroom resources comprised of expertise from local business people and community members.
Groundhog Job Shadow Day: A pilot group of eighth grade students went to local workplaces for the day in order to learn about an array of professions and career fields.
Learn to Earn: A local business professional presented to several of the ninth grade science classes on the importance of choosing challenging math and science classes.
Career Days: Stevens High School piloted career exploration activities over five days which enabled the students to hear guest speakers, go on industry tours, write a resume, practice a job interview and look into career opportunities on a more in depth level.
Educator in the Workplace: Teachers spent an afternoon visiting local companies to see how their classroom subject matter is put to use in the workplace.

The UVBEP's founding goal was to create a true partnership between local schools and the community through balanced participation, governance, benefits and funding. Nearly 50% of our funding comes directly from participating schools. The other half is raised from local businesses, community members and organizations.

In 2001-2002, the Claremont community had a fundraising goal to match the $6,000 committed by the Claremont School District. This goal was met largely as a result of the Claremont IDA, which works to bring economic development to the city of Claremont. Within the group, the workforce committee helps the educational process and workforce strategies. The Claremont IDA and its volunteer members from the business community have been instrumental in fundraising efforts to secure the matching funds. At the beginning of the year, Michael Satzow, Chairman of the Claremont Industrial Development Authority, pledged financial support from his own company, and sent a letter to Claremont's business leaders encouraging them to do the same. Thanks to the community's enthusiasm for building partnerships with local schools, the cost for the school district's involvement was nearly achieved.

The IDA took this involvement one step further, however, with a grant of $2,000 which they have chosen to donate to the UVBEP in two installments. These donations have been made possible due to a grant from Wal-mart that was given to the IDA in 1998 to use for economic activities. The first installment fulfilled the 2001-2002 matching fundraising goal, allowing the Claremont schools to continue to use UVBEP's resources. The second installment is a kick-off for the 2002-2003 school year's fundraising. The school district has upgraded from Exploratory Partnership to Full Partnership status, thereby allowing the students to fully take part in UVBEP programs and services.

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