Member-Led Local Projects
An integral part of BHEF's College Readiness, Access, and Success Initiative (CRI) is member-led local projects. These projects provide opportunities for teams of corporate, university, and foundation leaders in selected communities to work together to support local education improvement efforts. BHEF works with members to bring relevant stakeholders to the table, offers strategic consultation and expertise, and provides members with national perspectives and experts to make their ideas for educational improvement a reality. The CRI member-led local projects benefit the communities in which BHEF members work and live, as well as the business and education sectors generally, by enhancing the impact of their individual and collective efforts, and bringing these local efforts into national focus.
Louisville Member-Led Local Project
BHEF's Kentucky members seek to support community-wide education improvement efforts in Louisville, KY. In particular, the project aims to support the work of local education leaders to improve college readiness, access, and success for the Louisville region. BHEF's Kentucky members aim to address pressing workforce needs in the region through the Business Leaders for Education (BLE) group, convened through the local chamber of commerce, Greater Louisville Inc. The BLE works on issues of college readiness, access and success, with particular focus on improving the pipeline between grades 9 and 16 and increasing college degree attainment rates. BHEF supports these efforts by fostering collaboration among local K-12 education, higher education, business, and foundation leaders, and by offering strategic consultation and national perspective.
Louisville has become the model of success for the nation with the signing of the “The Greater Louisville Education Commitment”—an endeavor that represents the culmination of BHEF's efforts to help shape a comprehensive strategy to increase the region’s college degree attainment rates.
The BLE forum joined forces with the Mayor’s Education Roundtable (MER)—a group of educators, business and community leaders, and civic government—to commit to improving education outcomes. All 24 members of the MER on May 13, 2010, signed the Commitment, which focuses on creating a college-bound culture and infrastructure. The pact’s goals include boosting the number of Louisville area residents with a bachelor’s degree to at least 40 percent and those with an associate’s degree to at least 10 percent. The plan calls for achieving this milestone by 2020.
BHEF drafted a Louisville Blueprint for Community Action to help increase baccalaureate degree attainment in the region.
One-page overview of the project (pdf)
News release on the signing of The Greater Louisville Education Commitment
Philadelphia Member-Led Local Project
BHEF's Philadelphia members are supporting the Philadelphia School Project which will serve as a catalyst and incubator for innovation, best practices, and reform in Philadelphia's schools. BHEF seeks to support these efforts by fostering collaboration among local K-12 education, higher education, business, community, and foundation leaders, and by offering strategic consultation and national perspective as needed.
One-page overview of the project (pdf)
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