Posted by:
Reeny Davison
Posted on: May 23, 2001 at 2:24 PM
Message:
Dean,
Bayer has been wonderful, and, like Merck, is a model for corporate partnerships that really help achieve systemic reform. They have not only committed to continuing a funding contribution at the level of $135,000 per year, but they recently kicked off a PR campaign on our behalf (without their name) to ensure that we would make the transition to a fee for services successfully. There are billboards, print ads, TV and radio PSA's. They have also been, and continue to be, invaluable for fundraising. They have a European, long-term, but selfish interest in seeing American education improve, and we've been able to give them a lot of publicity, as well as help in creating similar programs at their other sites across the country. It's taken a continuous effort on both our sides to bridge the cultural differences and keep talking and listening.
As to the focus on student learning, we have not had to deal with top-down testing yet in that PA hasn't adopted Science Standards yet and only this year decided they would test them. So all that's coming. We're hoping that a focus on inquiry will enable teachers and parents to see how much more children can do and understand than if they focus on fact-based test questions. That hope will be tested in the next couple years. I think the answer lies in teaching quality.
Reeny
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