fvft-

rittiftkycm, buyvv alt 2

opportunities to observe employees on
the job. And staff development pro-
grams train teachers and administrators
to implement the strategies of the
Education Initiative.
Bailey was quick ro welcome the
Alliance support. "We were operating at
100 percent and getting exhausted,"
recalled Bailey.
"Then this agency came in and said,
`How can we help?' They became one
of our safety nets."
Yet another key player was Gary
Marx, the principal of Oak Park High
School, who joined the central adminis-
tration as director for student perfor-
mance analysis.
"I had an agenda in my mind on
where we were going, and this was an
opportunity to have a wider range
impact," said Marx, who had entered
the school system in 1967. "It's one of
the most rewarding professional experi-
ences I've ever had."
During the five years the Education
Initiative has been in place, Marx has
maintained offices at the high school
and at Consumers Energy in Royal
Oak, serving as a liaison between the
Leachers, the board, the school district
and the business world. "We measure
success not by how hard we're working,
but by the performance of our stu-
dents," he said.
"The key here is that we have a
group of staff people saying we want to
make a change," added Bailey. "There's
an overall camaraderie with teachers
and administrators saying we don't want

to be last. We have a family atmosphere
here. We're all in it together."
The district's achievements and the
alliance that makes them possible are
getting attention from a wider educa-
tion community
Last year, Eastern Michigan
University created an Institute of
Education Reform to export the suc-
cesses gained in the Oak Park, Saginaw
and Albion school systems to other at-
risk districts throughout the state. It is
headed by Rugh, who says that the
lessons he learned in Oak Park about
the role business can play in the schools
have value elsewhere.
"Oak Park is the first and only dis-
trict that I know of to have the ability
to examine in strategic process the stu-
dents from class to class," said Rugh.
"We're delivering solutions in strate-
gic fashion rather than in a program-
matic one."
The Business and Education Alliance
leadership admits that Oak Park
Schools have a long way to go, but they
see the improvements as opening a win-
dow of opportunity that had been shut
for too long.
"As we can see today, one of the frus-
trations of businesses today is that there
aren't enough people to employ," said
Rugh. "With unemployment at an all-
time low, we cannot afford to throw
anyone away.
"But in our complacency, I think
that's exactly what happened. I'm confi-
dent that the right people are there to
change that." ❑

Making More Than Loans

Jews maintain a strong presence in.

Oak Park, a four-square-mile city
that's blessed with more than a dozen
synagogues, in part because of the
work of the Neighborhood Project.
The program was started in 1986
by the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit to encourage
Jews to continue to live in Oak Park
by offering them interest-free home
loans. That approach made sense said
Marion Freedman, director of the
Neighborhood Project since 1996,
because, "Every time you move, you
have to rebuild and replace all the
institutions."
Today, the project has a vested
interest in working to enhance the
growth and vitality of both Oak Park
and Southfield, and it was among the
handful of charter members that
formed the Oak Park Business and

Education Alliance to help reverse the
decline of the city's schools.
Now the Neighborhood Project
sponsors Student of the Month
breakfasts at the elementary school
level, chaperones Job Shadowing
encounters at the middle school level
and supports the year-end honors
convocations for high school stu-
dents.
The program doesn't just work
with the Jewish community, said
Freedman. It tries to reach out to the
city government, the schools and
other ethnic groups.
"While we've worked to retain
the Jewish presence, we've 'also
worked very hard to provide support
and be there for other components
in the community," she said. "Good
schools are important to the com-
munity."

Artf

Gtr l",b atiPtre

• CetektVitl A ' rkLi • EGI“COrtiATII.

I

d

7

I

A

ce

C olnknfrtki,or I L 1.fe

Khasi evelytitii e

•

Trotv&I •

isi- otel

witktite

Sotircelooks
ern. Lfiffii, rM Metrotolkam kVA

Available to Jewish News subscribers only.
For advertising and subscription information call (248) 354-6060.

High Speed Corporate and Dial-Up Internet Access

Southwestern Ontario's Largest Internet Provider is now
in Michigan!

Finally,'an Internet Provider that can reliably handle all of
your Internet & communications needs. From dial-up to
corporate dedicated T1 access, no one can service you
like MNSi.

Network engineering and customer service excellence
are the foundation of our success. For solid reliability,
our fully fiber optic network consists of dual
redundant high capacity connections direct to the
SprintLink and internetMCI backbones.

For lightning-fast Internet service without the Flash .. .

Let MNSI be your direct link to the world of Global Business!

www.mnsime

-888-310-6 f 7

Stand out above the crowd,
have your financial future
planned by a professional

Call Phase Four today to schedule a one hour complimentary

consultation with Joel Levi, CFP and Trish Wellman, CFP.

PHASE FOUR

(248) 559-6980

T.CFP and Certified Financial Planner are certification marks of the International Board of Standards and Practices for Certified Financial Planners, Inc. (18CFP).
Securities offered through Vestax Securities Corporation, Member NASD & SIPC, 1931 Georgetown Road, Hudson, Ohio 44236. (330) 650-1660

7/3
1998

119