Community Partners
Why Partner?
Industry and community partners collaborate with MDUSD in developing and strengthening its career pathways because they recognize that they are helping prepare future employees. Our industry and community partners want to help MDUSD prepare its students for their future careers. This means that MDUSD, through the support of its community and industry partners, works to ensure that its students graduate work ready and with a plan for their post secondary steps.
Industry and community partners are essential to the development and maintenance ofMDUSD Career Pathways. These partnerships ensure that the career pathways are providing students with rigorous and relevant curriculum that is aligned to current industry practices. MDUSD community partners work with the teachers to ensure they are using equipment that is the same or similar to equipment used in the workplace. They also work to support teachers in developing curriculum and projects that reinforce the technical skills needed in that industry, as well as develop the work readiness skills students will need as they continue their pursuit of the industry sector in post secondary school and/or training. Finally, the industry and community partners support students in providing meaningful work based learning experiences so that students can see that what they are learning in the classroom is what is used in the real world. Students also get a chance to interact with individuals in the industry and learn about their journey.
- Concord Business Education Alliance: This is a partnership between MDUSD, the City of Concord, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce and John Muir Health. The CBEA grew out of a shared desire to deepen the partnership between Concord businesses and education. The CBEA also sponsors two annual events bringing industry partners and educators together. The first is BEST (Business and Educators Shadowing for Tomorrow) Day. BEST Day, which is also supported by the Contra Costa Economic Partnership and Opus Leeds, is an opportunity for career pathway teachers to spend a day shadowing industry partners. This provides teachers an opportunity to learn from industry partners about current industry skills and practices. Teachers then reflect on how they can take what they learned back to the classroom. CBEA also sponsors the annual Career Pathway Showcase. This is an opportunity for our career pathways to highlight the work they do during the school year. It also gives our industry and community partners an opportunity to talk to students about their experiences in the pathways. It is a great way to celebrate all the hard work of our students and teachers.
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Mt Diablo Business Education Alliance: The mission of the MDBEA is to strengthen short and long term workforce development with the MDUSD communities and to provide leadership in the strategic partnership of business and education that prepares students for college and career. Industry and community partners meet quarterly with MDUSD teachers to collaborate on curriculum, projects and possible work based learning experiences. MBDEA also ensures that our career pathways are teaching curriculum that is aligned to the most current industry standards
The MDBEA meetings rotate throughout the MDUSD high schools, allowing our pathways to show off their spaces and student work. This also allows our partners to provide feedback on how to make the spaces and the equipment model what students would see in the workplace. If you are interested in participating in the MDBEA, please contact Heather Fontanilla, Administrator of Career Pathways, fontanillah@mdusd.org.
