School reform and
the business community

Cottage Grove's pilot program

• A small-town success story
  A school district and a chamber of commerce have worked to provide a wide range of school-to-work experiences.
  

• Local businesses lend a big hand
  A Realtor says the involvement of many business people shows students that the community cares.
  

  

• A team recruits business people
  At Cottage Grove High, two coordinators match student needs with community resources.
  

• A big employer's role in the process
  A manager at Weyerhaeuser's local mill says his company's commitment to school change is "aggressive."
  

• One teacher's view
  A teacher wonders whether the state education department is too far removed from the classroom.
  

• A student's view of CAM
  She says it offers the opportunity to learn specific job skills that may help in choosing a career.
  

Business views, resource issues

• A business group's concerns
  A representative of Associated Oregon Industries says many students may find it difficult to meet the new standards.
  

• Big businesses see potential rewards
  Oregon's largest businesses expect the transformation to produce skilled workers with a sense of "corporate citizenship."
  

• HP generates high-powered support
  Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis showers local school districts with cash and equipment, which other districts can only envy.
  

• Big -- and urban -- may be better
  Like real estate, school transformation could become a matter of location, location, location.