An Alliance to Get Students Ready for the Real World

Four years of planning finally came to fruition mid-way through last month when the first meeting of the Port Washington School Business Partnership was held in the Student Commons at Schreiber High School.

The program, co-chaired by Schreiber Assistant Principal Craig Weiss and Debbie Greco of Greco Integrated Communications, is a joint venture between the Port Washington Union Free School District and Port's business community. According to Weiss, the partnership's goal is to form a symbiotic relationship between local schools and businesses. The assistant principal added that the partnership will allow Schreiber seniors to gain real-world business experience, interning for many businesses around town.

"The internship program is both formal and informal," Weiss said. "For most of the students doing an internship, it is part of a class requirement if they are enrolled in one of our senior experience classes. ... We want to engage local businesses, community groups, parents and educators for the purpose of developing career awareness, improving employability skills and strengthening the regional work force."

In the early stages of forming this group, Schreiber Principal Jay Lewis along with Weiss took the appropriate steps to turn what seemed like a great idea into a reality. They spoke with members of the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce to brainstorm ideas and made a presentation that detailed several aspects of what would eventually become the partnership, such as job fairs, internships and career awareness.

Weiss explained that there are currently five different classes for seniors — four Social Studies and one English — which have an internship as one of its requirements. He added that students can also choose to do an internship on their own and earn independent study credit.

"I think it is a nice opportunity for the business community to give back," said Kathy Christie, of Century 21. "Schreiber seniors will be introduced to the working world and learn workplace responsibilities. There a lot of different businesses participating in this partnership, hence a lot of different opportunities for seniors."

Frank Forino, of Unlimited Sports Action, who has employed children from Weber Middle School and Schreiber in the past, said he is looking forward to the partnership enhancing the relationship between his business and the schools.

"Unlimited looks to continue to grow the relationships we already have in the community and help kids get into the colleges of their choice," Forino said. "Also, we want to help the Athletics Department of Schreiber High School, providing a space for athletes to train. We want to help the students achieve the goals of being better people as well as better athletes."

Arnie Herz, of Port Washington, who is a lawyer, mediator and writer of the 'Legal Sanity' blog, has hired kids in the community in the past and hopes to conitinue doing so through the partnership. "We're building a stronger community through these two important faculties of the community," he said, "and I think it's great that we're working together."

The new School Business Partnership is open for participation by all educators in the district and all members of the business community. The opportunities for the seniors range from accounting and banking to working in marketing or sports.

The Happy Montessori School is also taking part in the partnership. "We have an intern starting on Feb. 1," said Dr. Anita Sethi, the school's representative in the program. "The Montessori school hopes to contribute to the education of Port Washington students and teenagers can add a new perspective in our classrooms. Plus, the pre-schoolers like a new face to play with and learn from."

The next meeting of the Port Washington School Business Partnership is scheduled tentatively for the end of February. Weiss said he is looking forward to a long-standing relationship between local businesses and the schools.

"I am thrilled that the partnership is finally coming together after all of our hard work and I think we've done it right," Weiss said. "We've spoken to the right people, like the Long Island Works Coalition who have provided us with technical and moral support throughout the entire process."