Community and Business Partnerships
We are interested in your ideas regarding volunteers, funding, or providing supplies and materials for our schools. How can we help facilitate your desire to help our schools?
Education partners play a vital role in the education of our youth. By providing volunteers, funding, and other resources, businesses and community organizations can make a difference to each and every student. Santa Clara Unified School District's mission is "to prepare students of all ages and abilities to succeed in an ever-changing world." Partners provide the unique perspective and resources that allow us to be successful in achieving our purpose.
Our Schools
The Santa Clara Unified School District serves over 15,400 students, kindergarten through high school and an additional 15,000 students enrolled in preschool and adult education programs. Neighborhoods in the cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and San Jose comprise the district's 56 square mile area. Located in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Unified prides itself on having teachers, classified employees, and administrators who are dedicated, experienced professionals who care about each student's well-being and academic preparation.
Our schools offer reading, writing, mathematics, science, social science, and physical education at the core of a comprehensive curriculum. STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics), music and choral classes, CTE (career technical education), foreign language, dramatic arts, and competitive athletics are some of the supplemental programs which enrich our students' education. Our students have an abundance of opportunities to explore individual interests through these offerings.
Our Goal
Our goal is to broaden the scope of learning opportunities for our students. Through our 2015-2020 strategic plan, Rising Above in Silicon Valley!, the Board of Trustees set a goal to create a bridge between the private sector and the classroom to become a direct link to students. This link, our education/community collaborative, is now called our Community and Business Partnerships program. The District and the Board are committed to building long-range partnerships throughout the community. We build these partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, community organizations, social service agencies, local governments, and families to provide more opportunities for students to succeed in school and prepare for life after school. By getting local organizations involved in education, we can improve student performance, provide real-life experiences, and prepare the student for the world of work.
Our Partners
Partners provide a variety of educational services for our students. First and foremost, the presence of a corporate employee or a business owner in the classroom, or a student visit to a business, provides a sense of relevance to the student's education. Personal involvement such as reading to students, listening to what the student has written, or even filing library books has a tremendous impact on our teachers and students.
Some of the ways local companies and community members are involved include being guest speakers, leading a lessons in the classroom, offering field trips and job shadowing experiences, and donating funds for programs like mobile STEAM carts. Contributions of teaching supplies, office supplies, furniture, and technology help make learning more meaningful. Funding for special literacy programs, teacher training, student programs, and technology expand the scope of educational services offered to our students. Ongoing discussions with businesses about their needs and concerns regarding their employees help us design and implement appropriate curriculum and teaching methods so the student is more able to enter the workforce as a valued employee.
The Difference
Partnerships make a difference to the student and to the business. The economic viability of Silicon Valley's businesses is dependent upon the quality of the employee they ultimately hire from our local schools. We are here to help contribute to the local economic environment. We can only do that if we have mutual partnerships with local businesses.
Contact
Steven Neese
Partnerships Manager
(408) 423-3237
sneese@scusd.net