"The university element is unique to our program. It is not just a summer
seminar these teachers are going to. They are taking valuable knowledge
learned at IUK back with them to their classroom."Glenn H. Grundmann
For most, after 38 years with the same company, retirement would be on the horizon. Not in the case of Glenn H. Grundmann. His enthusiasm for his job as Delco Electronics Corporation's manager of External Education Relations and as director of the Kokomo/Howard County business/education partnership known as VISION is matched only by the praise VISION has received.
"I tell people VISION has kept me from retiring," Grundmann says. "It's really kept me going. It has been the most rewarding project I think I have ever been associated with."
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"The university element is unique to our program. It is not just a summer
seminar these teachers are going to. They are taking valuable knowledge
learned at IUK back with them to their classroom." Glenn H. Grundmann |
As rewarding as it has been for Grundmann, hard work and challenge are two other words to describe this model program in the community. VISION (Vision of Industry and Schools in Ongoing Network) grew five years ago out of a partnership called DEKCS (Delco Electronics and Kokomo Center Schools).
"We (DEKCS) wanted an excellent teacher enhancement program," Grundmann says. "What we did not want to do was reinvent the wheel."
Grundmann began to investigate teacher enhancement programs across the country and found several he liked. He found one in North Carolina he liked best. In the summer of 1991, with the help of Kokomo Center Schools faculty, some modification and much hard work, VISION could be seen clearly.
Interesting businesses who would be willing to join the new collaborative was the next goal.
"To be effective, it was going to take more than Delco Electronics," Grundmann says. "So, the first year, Delco Electronics told businesses we would finance the entire project, with the hope that businesses would help financially in future years. And they did just that."
The icing on the cake came with the involvement of Indiana University Kokomo.
"The university element is unique to our program," Grundmann notes. "It is not just a summer seminar these teachers are going to. They are taking valuable knowledge learned at IUK back with them to the classrooms.
"These teachers have to produce a paper -- have it published -- and present it to their colleagues. For their effort, they receive graduate credits from IUK. What a wonderful partnership."
VISION's growth over the last five years has inspired other communities to inquire about the program.
"I've been asked 'Will this work in our community'," Grundmann adds. "My response is one of simply not knowing. The Kokomo/Howard County giving kind of spirit and the sense of community here is what makes this program work.
"The willingness of the schools, IUK and business to come together is hard to find in many communities."
VISION
PO Box 2613
Kokomo, IN 46904-2613
or access the VISION website at:
http://www.netusa1.net/~easths
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