By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
Feb. 16, 2011

Kansas City Missouri School District (KCMSD) Board of Education members are continually searching for ways to help students within KCMSD excel.

During a Feb. 9 board of education meeting, it came in the form of talking to business stakeholders in the community.

The district’s goal is to form long-term partnerships with area businesses and better prepare students for life after graduation.

Meeting with the board were Bill Coughlin, president of George K. Baum & Company, Laura Evans, talent strategist for Cerner, and Robin McLean, executive director for Truman Medical Center Corporate Academy.

“I think we have a lot to offer students,” Evans said. “We can help them explore career opportunities, job shadows… internships. There’s a lot of benefits to including businesses in the education conversation.”

McLean said businesses want to help, but need the schools to specify how.

Asked what skills and abilities KCMSD’s graduates need to possess, McLean stressed the ability of critical thinking.

“Communication,” Coughlin answered. “I think that’s probably the single biggest issue to be able to stand up and speak, not text, not e-mail. If students aren’t able to do that, they’re not getting a good education, in my opinion.”

Evans said KCMSD needs better collaboration between the local businesses, teachers and parents. Teachers need to add “real life” curriculum and learning into their teaching, she said.

Asked for their vision of “career-ready students,” McLean said it starts with communication.

“I think they have to have critical thinking, problem solving capabilities,” McLean said. “They’re able to communicate effectively with adults, peers. They’re able to work in teams…

“Fundamentally, we need students who can learn. There’s an awful lot of emphasis on content and content is important, but content is changing.”

Coughlin said students need to exude confidence during an interview and know how to present themselves effectively.

“They have to be hirable,” he said. “When they walk in, you can’t start teaching them there that their pants have to be up – they (pants) can’t be falling down in a hospital corridor. “It’s everyday basic skills.”

“What questions do you have of your board?” board president Airick West asked.

McLean asked the board to help in dividing up the problem.

“Because right now, it is like this huge elephant…” McLean said. “We need help cutting it up, so we can figure out more what to do.”

Evans stressed the school district also needs to appoint a specific and consistent person for area businesses to contact.

“There’s got to be someone on the receiving end for us to be able to make these relationships work,” she said.

Board members West, Crispin Rea Jr., Kyleen Carroll, Arthur Benson, Derek Richey, Duane Kelly, Joseph Jackson and Ray Wilson further discussed the comments made by McLean, Evans and Coughlin.

Benson agreed students need to make a connection to the real world, but said the problem is getting students interested in education.

“It’s really not so large an elephant that we are unable to deal with it,” Benson said.

“The business community is willing and ready to step up, but the district needs to make it easier,” Rea said.

Rea suggested principals at each school post their needs on the KCMSD’s website to give businesses ideas on how to help.

“The work force is obviously competitive,” Carroll said. “The competition they’re seeing is global and our students need to compete in that. The expectations for excellence have risen substantially and in order for our students to compete, they need to know what that bar is.”