 A VISION Fellow from Kokomo-Center Township Schools operates a microscope at Du Pont Photo-masks. The unusual business/education collaborative, initiated in 1994, with Delco Electronics Corporation spearheading the project, has gained widespread recognition as an innovative and highly successful program that enriches teacher education, inspires grassroots curriculum reform, and helps prepare students for today's complex world of work.
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Many well-intentioned education programs come and go with little impact on students or community. The same cannot be said for an extremely successful partnership between Indiana University Kokomo, public schools, and local business and industry
Vision of Industry and Schools in Ongoing Network (VISION) has set high standards for enhancing teaching and learning in local schools by transferring real-world state-of-the-art business experiences into classroom instruction. Initiated by Delco Electronics and Kokomo Center Schools, the unusual collaborative was introduced to the community in 1994.
Each year a VISION's search committee, through reviewing applications, selects area teachers who would like to volunteer to become VISION Fellows. All Fellows, no matter the subject or grade they teach, take the same general classes at IUK, exploring everything from chemical properties to assembly of circuit boards.
That knowledge provides a strong foundation for going into those related work places. For example, Fellows who constructed a circuit board, say they had a better understanding of the technology at Delco Electronics, which has its world headquarters in Kokomo. Once new knowledge is gained at the worksite, the real task for VISION Fellows begins. Based on one or more of their observations, they fashion a curriculum and creatively implement it in their classrooms during the school year.
Throughout the year, the Fellows also share their curriculum projects with other educators.
"The VISION Program is designed to enhance the quality of teacher instruction and to improve students' understanding of the relevancy of the subject matter," says Glenn H. Grundmann, Delco Electronics manager of External Education Relations and director of the VISION Program. "The teachers are taught what goes on in the real world (of business). That knowledge is passed along to students who become more employable as better prepared workers . . . and better prepared college students."
Teachers find the intangibles of the program invaluable in teaching students about workforce expectations.
"What I passed along to the students, other than the end product of those businesses, was the level of quality control and professionalism," says Jeff Hellmann, art teacher and VISION Fellow from Northwestern High School. "A student needs to learn in high school the importance of doing a job, doing it right, and working as a team member to produce the best quality of work possible."
The program's pilot season started with nine teachers and six Howard County businesses participating. Since then, VISION has grown to include 20 teachers and 11 businesses.
Businesses partnering with Delco Electronics, Kokomo Center Schools, IU Kokomo, and Purdue University School of Technology at Kokomo include: Chrysler Corporation, Du Pont Photomasks, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), PSI Energy, Saint Joseph Hospital and Health Center, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Key Bank, Howard Community Hospital, United Presidential Life Insurance Co. and Humphrey Printing Co.
These businesses are the primary source of direct financial and in-kind support for the program. Significant in-kind support also has been provided by the five Howard County school corporations, IUK and Eisenhower Professional Development Grants. In addition, financial support also has been received from many community groups.
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