Networking
K-12 public schools too often neglect po-
tential outside partnerships. We are funded,
we hire our staff, we create or buy our cur-
riculum, and we do our thing. So often, we
fail to recognize the community around us is
willing to contribute to our schools and stu-
dents. When we do seek support, it is usu-
ally for a specified service: money, or a very
specific way to volunteer. Rarely do we allow
outside partners to bring their own ideas.
What we found is there is a sleeping giant
waiting to make our schools great. We were
able to establish an advisory committee of com-
munity professionals and forge partnerships
with higher education, community mentors,
the business community and local vendors.
Sometimes these partnerships have taken
a lot of time to build. Often, a meeting with
one person leads to a meeting with someone
else. As we have built a network, we have
found more people equipped and excited to
engage with us. We have found new skill sets
we didn’t even know we needed.
These partners have been instrumental
to helping us build our school. Our advi-
sory committee has been key in helping us
to learn the needs of developing entrepre-
neurial skills within our students and creat-
ing a community mentorship program. I am
shocked by how easy it has been to garner
community support, when we sought their
perspective instead of trying to fit them in
to a specific square hole. Give partners real
problems to work on and let them work for
your school!
The entrepreneurial mindset
By adopting entrepreneurial systems, our
staff has become more innovative and self-
aware. We are more open to involving our stu-
dents and the community in our school. We
are more willing to change when needed, and
we are constantly looking for opportunities.
Our team has grown as we work to im-
prove. Every day is a chance to do something
different and learn from it. And make it bet-
ter. Because the customers we serve in edu-
cation should matter more than any others.
Resources
• Brown, T. (2009). “Change by design.”
New York, NY: Harper Collins.
• Gates, B. (1999), “Business @ the Speed
of Thought.” Business Strategy Review, 10:
11-18.
• Gemmell, R.M., Boland, R.J. and Kolb,
D.A. (2012), “The socio-cognitive dynamics
of entrepreneurial ideation.” Entrepreneur-
ship Theory and Practice, 36: 1053-1073.
• Liedtka, J. and Ogilvie, T. (2011). “De-
signing for growth: A design tool kit for man-
agers.” New York: Columbia University Press.
• Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2010).
“Business model generation.” Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons.
• Ries, E. (2011). “The lean startup.” New
York, NY: Crown Business.
Brett Taylor, Ed.D. is assistant professor,
program lead for Social & Educational
Entrepreneurship in the Benerd School
of Education at University of the Pacific,
Sacramento.
40
Leadership