Educating for Careers CMeyer 3.19

GORILLAdigital senior management has been involved in At-Risk Youth issues for more than three years and through our involvement in this area have come to appreciate the enormous positive impact that Career & Technical Education Programs have on at-risk youth.  CTE programs, or linked learning programs have demonstrated to deliver higher school attendance rates, higher graduation rates and provide higher income jobs for high school graduates.  This is the kind of hope that many students need to keep them on the beam and in school.

GORILLAdigital wants to contribute in a meaningful way to the success of CTE programs, so for every school district that standardizes on GORILLAdigital Optics for a two-year period, GORILLAdigital will provide a commensurate level of business partnership development services at no charge.

Here’s how this will work.  The school district that purchases GORILLAdigital Optics for a network upgrade will earn credits that can be used toward work to enhance Career & Technical Ed programs and the project would look like this:

Kick-Off Meeting

• Set objectives
• Establish talking points & scripts
• Identify CTE programs
• Review scope of work and discuss scheduling

Out-Reach to Businesses (2 months)

• Recruit businesses to provide job shadowing, internships, guest speakers, facility tours, etc.
• Follow-up with interested businesses | Confirm schedule of activities
• Target multiple CTE programs (eg. Auto, construction, culinary, etc.)

Summarization Meeting

• Share results, discussion of best practices
• Discuss next steps
• Recommendations

The scope of the work will be determined in advance and will differ depending on several factors including type and quantity of products ordered.  In some cases, additional work may be provided such as engaging with CTE programs on:

• Cause Marketing
• Best Practices in Working with Businesses
• Top 4 Ways to Attract CTE Business Partners
• Organizing a Meeting of Businesses & Educators