- Academies of Anchorage
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Building a Partnership
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Get Involved!
What is an Academy Partner?
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A critical component of this educational transformation is business partner engagement. Academy Partners can come in many forms, but they all must have one thing in common — the desire to share their time, talent and expertise with our scholars.
While there is no financial requirement for your organization to become a partner, you must commit to a set amount of engagements with each partnering school per year.
FAQs
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What is the Academies of Anchorage Model?
Academies are small learning communities that empower students through college and career exposure so they can make timely, informed decisions and discover their true passions while earning early college credit and nationally recognized industry certifications. General education content is taught through the lens of their academy while business and community partners provide authentic experiential learning opportunities at every level.
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What is a Pathway?
A pathway is a multi-year program of academic and technical study that prepares students for a full range of post-secondary options within each career cluster. Career pathways provide a context for exploring career options at all levels of education. Career pathways link student learning to the knowledge and skills needed for future education and employment.
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What is a Pathway Partnership?
A Pathway Partnership is a formalized agreement between a high school academy and a business, university, community organization, professional association, government department, or other group.
Partnership activities vary, depending on the needs of the pathway and a partner’s interests and resources. The goals for partnerships between businesses and pathways are to improve graduation rates, build relationships between students and positive adult role models, and support positive outcomes after high school graduation, including further education and entry into high-wage, high-demand careers.
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What are some ways to be involved?
There are various ways for the communities and businesses to be involved. Some ways are identified below (If you think of any other way to collaborate feel free to contact us)
- Advise on curriculum and certifications
- Host field trips and industry tours
- Participate in the Career Exploration Fair
- Guest speaking
- Provide project-based learning examples
- Video chat classroom instruction
- Host teacher externships
- Provide student internships
- Being a career mentor
- Become an Academy Advisory Board member
- Career Expo
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How do I sign up to be a Partner?
Please click on this link and complete the form to sign up
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Can I just volunteer as a business? I’m not ready to commit yet
Yes, please contact us to explore opportunities.
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What if I already have a relationship with a school?
Please work with the Academy Coach or Principal to be recognized as a school partner. Some of the benefits of formally being a school partner are listed below:
- Streamlined efficient communications.
- Awareness of additional opportunities (to choose from)
- Opportunities for your employees to be increasingly engaged in meaningful ways in the community
- Celebrations: in addition to classroom/teacher Thank Yous and recognitions, you now have the opportunity to be publicly recognized by the district and other community partners (e.g. United Way, Chambers, AEDC) in a bigger way;
- Increased recognition is good for branding;
- Sustainability through building positive reputations
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What are the expectations of a Pathway Partner?
- Commit to two engagements per school year
- The business point of contact participates in a planning session with the school’s Academy Coach to determine how best to work together. (written agreement)
- Support the goals of the academy.
Ways to Engage
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- Provide Guest Speakers
- Participate in Career Expo
- Conduct Mock Interviews
- Host Industry Tours
- Become a Career Mentor
- Provide Job Shadowing Experiences
- Participate in Project-Based Learning Activities
- Provide Certification and/or Curriculum Advice
- Host Student Interns
- Serve on the School’s Academy Advisory Board
- Corporate Giving (Financial, Equipment, etc.)
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Need help figuring out which Academies and pathways fit best for your business? Take a look at this Academies by Industry chart. If you would like to see the academies sorted by school, click here.