BB2C brings career learning to Marietta classrooms
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MARIETTA - Marietta City Schools educators learned how local businesses and community organizations can help bring career-focused experiences into classrooms during a districtwide professional development session led by Building Bridges to Careers.
Jenna Stewart, BB2C assistant director of partnership engagement, and Emily Bentley, who focuses on educator initiatives for the organization, introduced staff members to community- and career-connected learning and the programs BB2C offers to support it.
Bentley defined community- and career-connected learning as "a learning system integrating community partnerships and career awareness into experiential, place-based learning."
Marietta City Schools Superintendent Mary Schaeffer said the district is focusing this year on the impact educators and community partners can have on students. District staff members completed a book study based on John Hattie's "Visible Learning," which examines factors that influence student achievement.
"When I think about who are our partners and who can help us to have that maximum impact on our students, whatever their path is for their journey in life, BB2C came to mind," Schaeffer said. "It just gives us more support for our resources. How can we align these opportunities for our kids so that they have the chance to see what's out there and experience it firsthand?"
More than 150 district employees responded to a BB2C survey about community- and career-connected learning. The participants included teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and other certified and classified employees.
The survey asked staff members to identify major Washington County employers and industries and describe which students currently have access to career-connected opportunities. It also asked what programs employees would like to see, what challenges make career-related learning difficult and what support they need to incorporate it into their work.
Schaeffer said she appreciated BB2C collecting information directly from staff rather than assuming what employees or students need.
"I think that engages that population in a way they're not used to, asking those questions," she said. "You're gathering information and then helping to tailor what it is to meet our needs."
Bentley said responses showed some educators were unfamiliar with the region's largest employers and industries. Connecting teachers with the community can help them better prepare students for the opportunities available after graduation, she said.
"We talk a lot about how our students don't know what they don't know," Bentley said. "Educators can be really siloed in their classrooms."
BB2C supports educators through several programs, including a career speaker series that brings business and industry professionals into classrooms. The organization contacts speakers and works with teachers to find opportunities that align with their curriculum and academic standards.
BB2C also operates its Real World Problem Scenario program, which connects a teacher with a local business professional. The business identifies a current problem and presents it to students, who work together to develop potential solutions before presenting their ideas to the business.
Bentley said BB2C helps teachers guide the problem-solving process while students practice teamwork, critical thinking and presentation skills. The organization has used the program with students ranging from first grade through high school seniors, adjusting the complexity of the problem to fit each class.
"The problems can be as complex or as simple as makes sense for the teacher and their curriculum," Bentley said. "At the end of the day, all of the problems are allowing students to practice and hone problem solving, teamwork, critical thinking and presentation skills."
Stewart said BB2C's work with students often begins with assessments that help them identify aptitudes, abilities and interests they may not have previously recognized. The organization then coaches students and introduces them to careers through events such as Family Career Fest and Discover Day, as well as classroom speakers.
Those experiences can lead to job shadowing or internships. Stewart said BB2C connects students with businesses and has access to some funding sources that allow students to be paid for their work.
The process helps students consider careers beyond the jobs they commonly encounter in school, at home or through social media, Stewart said.
"When we give them another subset of different pathways that they would not only be good at, but they may have interest in, we then place them in their internships and their job-shadowing experiences," she said.
BB2C works with schools throughout Washington County and other parts of Appalachian Ohio. Stewart said its programs can be adapted for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Bentley said the session also aligned with district administrators' goals of maximizing learning for all students and showing families why they should choose Marietta City Schools.
Schaeffer said she hopes the district continues expanding its relationship with BB2C in the coming years.
"What I would look for over the years to come is just continuing to build that," she said. "I would love for our community to know what exactly we're doing and how we're engaging together to help our kids and to engage our community in a new way."