Performance and achievement: 21st century imperatives; The workforce of the future will come from the classrooms of today.

What will that workforce look like? Will it meet the rapidly growing demand for higher-skilled workers? Will it have the tools to compete in a global economy? Will it show the world a multicultural, multiethnic face? The answers to those questions are critical to your business--and to the economic future of the Detroit Region.

At the 2006 Mackinac Policy Conference, Roberts T. Jones, president of Education & Work force Policy LLC, provided a sobering assessment of the strengths--and weaknesses--of Michigan's educational system as it relates to workforce development.

"The challenge is establishing a culture of performance and achievement," he states. "There must be a public commitment to clear performance-oriented management systems, to essential investments to support student achievement and to holding policymakers, educators, the public and parents accountable for these outcomes."

Business must play a role in this investment process too. In this special section of the Detroiter, our goal is to inspire you to join this public commitment.

Loyola High School Real-life Work Experience

Innovation in the Classroom The Detroiter spotlights schools in our community that are taking creative approaches to develop a well-qualified workforce for your business

At Loyola High School in Detroit, students don't wait until they graduate to get a serious introduction to the world of work.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Juniors and seniors at the all-male Catholic school work one day a week and one Friday a month at area businesses. This experience gives the students the opportunity use their personal and professional skills in a real-world workplace, while at the same time helping them assume part of the financial responsibility for their own education.

The Loyola Work Experience Program (LWEP) is the only program of its kind in the Detroit Region.

"It's definitely a model that works" for Loyola's school profile, says Father David Mastrangelo, SJ, the school's president. "The biggest single challenge now is the job market. Schools in the other parts of the country are not facing this challenge."

Employers get a full week's work through LWEP. The students work in four-person teams, sharing one entry-level position for a standard business week, Monday through Friday. Each student is assigned to work one day per week--a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday--plus one Friday per month.

The Detroit-based law firm Dykema has been an LWEP participant since the program was launched four years ago. This year four Loyola students are working at Dykema--two in the human resources department and one each in the marketing and facilities departments.

"Each year we meet the students and try to fit them into areas where we have a real job as opposed to just keeping them busy," says Kim Amodeo, Dykema's director of human resources. "These are great young men. They are very responsible, and the school does a very good job of making sure their performance stays strong. They contact us on a regular basis to get feedback."

With 160 students, Loyola targets young men who face the challenges of an urban environment and are serious about their future. The fact that all members of Loyola's nine graduating classes have been accepted into at least one college or university is a testament to the fact that Loyola is an educational model that works for at-risk youths.

Although a Catholic high school, Loyola welcomes students of all faiths who are willing to be guided by the Jesuit philosophy of education that fosters self-discipline, reflection and service to others.

University High School The New Three R's

Southeast Michigan's economic future depends on its ability to advance its reputation as the world's automotive brain center. That imperative is acknowledged at University High School, a four-year public school operated by Ferndale Public Schools in partnership with Lawrence Technological University and Siemens VDO Automotive Corp.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The tuition-free school of choice provides students with early college options and a pre-professional focus on preparing for executive leadership careers in the global automotive and related high-tech industries, including engineering, design, planning, manufacturing, purchasing, logistics, marketing, sales and service.

University High School first opened its doors in the fall of 2005 with a vision based on the Three R's--rigor, relevance and relationships.

"We believe that we are in a position to better prepare kids to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. That's what industry tells us over and over again that they need," says Principal George Tomey. "By providing a relevant experience, we're giving the kids a leg up to prepare them for the real world. We're also feeding an industry pipeline with students prepared for real challenges."

UHS works closely with corporate partner Siemens VDO, educational partner Lawrence Tech and the Convergence Education Foundation, a coalition of automotive and electronics industrialists and educators, to develop project-based educational experiences that are more profound and more meaningful than the typical textbook and exercises in a traditional classroom.

"Industry involvement is critical to changing the way we do business," says Tomey. "It's like having a baseball team and bringing in the Detroit Tigers to work with the kids. A great deal of the learning that goes on outside these walls is just as critical as what they're learning in the classroom."

This year, 17 students from India are tutoring UHS students four days a week. The Indian students are all pursuing master's degrees in automotive engineering or mechanical engineering at Lawrence Tech in Southfield.

The UHS program is funded by Michigan Future Inc., a nonprofit organization seeking new ideas on how Michigan can succeed in the Information Age. Admission is open to any student in Oakland County or any bordering county.

Gompers Elementary School Failure is not an option

Gompers Elementary School is located in what demographers would call an "impoverished area" on Detroit's far west side. Many of its 300 students--from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade--face daily challenges that are not uncommon in the struggling Detroit Public Schools system.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Despite those challenges, students at Gompers are succeeding in such areas as English language arts, science and mathematics, thanks to a forward-thinking principal, a dedicated staff that isn't afraid to step outside traditional teaching boundaries and a culture in which all students are expected to succeed and failure is not an option.

"We believe in teaching the whole child. We believe in helping them grow socially, behaviorally, academically and ethically," says Principal Gale Lewis, now in her sixth year at Gompers. "Children here feel safe, comfortable, cared for and loved. When those things come together, we found that children can really thrive."

Lewis's philosophy has been so successful in terms of academic, attendance and social improvement that Gompers has been designated a "high-performing school" by the Detroit-based Skillman Foundation as part of its "Good Schools: Making the Grade" initiative. The designation included a $100,000 grant to help the school increase student achievement by 10 percent through enriched cultural and technology programs.

"We now have a state-of-the-art technology lab," says Lewis. "Every child has his or her own in that one classroom. We have new modern white boards and data projector so all lessons can be taught using technology."

Partnerships with Michigan State University and the University of Michigan also play a role in the school's success against high odds. MSU provides four teacher interns for the entire year, which means four of the school's classrooms each have two teachers. U-M sends 25 to 30 students to Gompers each Friday. They work one-on-one with children who may be struggling with math, spelling or other subjects.

Lewis also gives high marks to her 15-member teaching staff for going above and beyond the call of duty.

"Many wear multiple hats," she says. "The school nurse helps the cheerleading team. Our school counselor is a gifted musician. Our science teacher is very interested in robotics, so we have a robotics team. We have a wonderful language arts teacher who loves drama, and through her efforts we have wonderful spring productions including 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'The High School Musical.' When you keep children occupied in good things they don't have time to get involved in negative things."

Washtenaw Technical Middle College A Head Start on Higher Ed

The high school-aged students participating in the Washtenaw Technical Middle College (WTMC) program at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor are getting a head start on higher education and a better crack at landing a good job in a technical field when they graduate.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

WTMC students are jointly enrolled as full-time students at Washtenaw Community College, and they must meet all the requirements of WCC students. When they graduate, they have both a high school diploma and a certificate or associate degree from WCC.

WTMC has a diverse student body, drawing applicants from 30 different high schools across a six-county area. To be accepted into the award-winning program, the students must already have completed one to two years of high school coursework.

Once in the program, the students face a whole new environment. They are studying on a college campus, and they must take complete charge of their own education and behavior. Unlike a typical high school, there are no bells, hall monitors or daily announcements to keep them on track. In order to graduate from high school, they must also complete a certificate program at Washtenaw Community College.

In order to transition into the college portion of the program, students must complete college preparatory courses in English, mathematics, science and social studies with a minimum grade of "C" and demonstrate that they have the "soft" (life management) skills needed for college. Then they are required to complete 100-level college classes in core subjects of English, mathematics, science, social studies, communication and technology.

Launched in 1997 as a public charter secondary school, WTMC enrolls about 120 new students each year. Typically, graduates either transfer to a four-year institution with credits they earned through WTMC or begin their careers with the associate degree they earned at Washtenaw Community College.

The program has won numerous honors. In 2006 WTMC was selected by the International Center for Leadership in Education as one of the top 25 high schools in the country, and in 2004 it was named by the U.S. Department of Education as one of four schools in the nation embracing a new educational vision for the 21st century.

University Preparatory Academy Smaller Is Better

If you visit a classroom at University Preparatory Academy in Detroit, don't expect to see many teachers standing before a class and lecturing. For that matter, don't expect to see many textbooks.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

University Preparatory Academy is an entirely new educational model for urban youngsters espoused by its founder and superintendent, Doug Ross, formerly a U.S. assistant secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration.

"Most urban students do not come to school motivated to learn. They do not have the self-identity of successful students. Many have no idea how school connects with what they care about, or how it can shape their future in the real world," says Ross.

University Prep--a public charter elementary and middle high school--seeks to change that mid-set by giving students a small, nurturing environment where principals and teachers are accountable for their success. Its goal is to prepare every child to graduate from high school and go on to college.

The three schools, by design, are small. Each student is placed in what is called an Advisory (their main class) of 16 students, who stay together with the same advisor (teacher) for several years. The classroom also looks very different. Instead of a teacher standing before the class, you're more likely to see students working alone in small groups on science, math, writing or other projects. Or heading out the door for a field trip or getting ready for an internship in a business or office setting.

In addition to grades in high school (elementary and middle school students don't receive them), students show what they have learned in exhibitions, and their advisors show them how they are doing through narratives. There are few textbooks. Ross says most learning is not done from textbooks because textbooks assume every child is ready to learn the same thing in the same way on the same day. "That's not how learning works, which is why traditional public schools fail too many of our kids."

Founded in 2000 in partnership with Wayne State University and Henry Ford Community College--and chartered by Grand Valley State University--University Prep now has more than 1,200 students from pre-school to 12th grade and will graduate its first high school class this year.

University Prep's future depends on meeting specific goals. The charter school has an agreement with philanthropists Bob and Ellen Thompson, the Plymouth couple who have committed their personal fortune to improving education, to graduate 90 percent of its students and send 90 percent of the graduates on to college. According to Ross, University Prep expects to meet those graduation and college enrollments this June.

RELATED ARTICLE: Take this opportunity to discover:

* Schools across the region that are taking innovative approaches.

* Partnerships and programs to help you be part of the solution.

* Business and labor perspectives on education and skills development.

* How the pioneering Detroit Compact program changes young lives.

* Why workforce development has long been one of the Chamber's priorities.