What is the McLean County Community Compact?

Since 1989, over 150 community leaders have collaborated to strengthen the transition of young people from school to the world of work. These leaders in conjunction with hundreds of volunteers commit their support and participate in several projects to improve academic preparation and career readiness. Compact members initiate projects that bring together business, schools, government and community agencies. Each project is designed to spark cooperative efforts, develop on-going partnerships and create unique career exploration opportunities for our youth.

6th Grade Business/Education Partnerships

This was one of the original programs developed by the Compact. It began in 1989 with four businesses participating and has grown to where we are now able to provide a business partner with every 6^th grade classroom in McLean County. This year, we have placed 39 businesses into 52 sixth grade classrooms. The businesses work with the class for a period of 6 to 8 weeks using a variety of activities to increase the awareness of the students concerning the "world of work". The partnership provides information regarding the specific businesses, workplace readiness skills, and career education to over 2500 McLean County students.

Principal for a Day

Our annual Principal for a Day week took place during the first week of March. This is also one of the Compact original programs. Initially introduced to allow influential business leaders and active Compact members to view the day-to-day operations of the schools, the Principal for a Day program has gone over well in the last several years. In the last four years, the Compact has become active as a day chair for the Leadership McLean County class. Each Leadership member has been assigned a school to become Principal for the day. Over 32 businesses and 30 Leadership McLean County class members are represented in the schools and get the opportunity to experience schools where many students love and respect their principals and see the many expectations of our principals and educators.

Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge

Each year, the Compact hosts the Regional WYSE regional competition for McLean County area high school students. Two hundred twenty students from ten area high schools participated in this year's competition. The competition, which is offered throughout Illinois and other Midwestern states, brings together some of the brightest students in our area to be tested in Physics, English, Chemistry, Biology, Math and Computer Science. The top teams and individuals from the regional competition go on to the Sectional at Bradley University in Peoria, and then on the State Competition at the University of Illinois in the spring.

Job-Shadowing

The Compact offers job-shadowing opportunities to area high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors following work in the classroom by the teacher on career choice or work with the students by the staff of the Compact. Last year, over 350 individual placements were made in area businesses that volunteer with the Compact to host students. Students have the opportunity to actually try on a career before they pursue the training and education involved with it. All schools are invited to participate in this valuable experience.

Clearinghouse Committee

The Clearinghouse Committee of the McLean County Community Compact consists of leaders in the community at the forefront of use for technology. These volunteers have devised a way to recycle used technology from local businesses to students in fifth grade that do not have, and have never had, technology present in their homes. Businesses purchasing new computer equipment donate their old equipment to the Compact and the Compact seeks out fifth graders and their families for the Fifth Grade Family Computer Project. In this project, fifth graders and their families are given a computer system complete with printer, and Internet access is added for six months. If equipment is not suitable for upgrade, the equipment is recycled properly out of the area. To date, nearly 20 tons of equipment has been removed from the area.

Achieving Competence in Education

Achieving Competence in Education allows mentors in the business community to work with students not on a positive educational path. These students may be near dismissal from their home schools and may see no need to study, or particularly to study some of the required courses in schools today. Our connection for them to the business community in an area of interest to the student allows the student to see first-hand the skills needed to be successful in areas of the business world today. They are exposed to the types of training needed to be successful in business on a full time basis in the future. We have seen tremendous success in many cases with the business-mentoring program.

Character Counts!

Support of the area Character Counts! programs, and other Character Education programs has been successful during the past six years. Our role is in combined training efforts, the offering of CPDUs needed for upgrade for teachers' training, and offered collaborative efforts to upgrade programs by allowing a venue where teachers can explore new ideas and train together. The efforts in Character Education have touched the lives of over 5,000 teachers and students per year in the area over the past few years.

Partners in Prevention

Partners in Prevention is a collaborative program with Project Oz and with Chestnut Health Systems that offers workplace training to parents or other involved with the lives of young people on a daily basis. In the past, brown bag sessions have been designed for delivery over the lunch hour to participants who want to learn prevention techniques, positive parenting techniques, and how to spot troublesome areas, particularly as they develop with teenagers. A group is created on a volunteer basis through the business and delivery of ideas begins. Country Insurance and Financial Services, ISU, IWU, and Hewlett Packard are a few of the businesses that have found this program particularly useful to their employees.

Teens in Prevention (TiPs)

Active teens in McLean County have formed the Teens in Prevention Network (TiPs) of McLean County. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency developed the idea and shared their knowledge with McLean County teens. The teens then organized to share the message with others. Teens in Prevention Network offers a formal 1-day training session to students. The teens learn how to keep a commitment and courage to live a drug and alcohol free life. Each McLean County high school is offered a partnership with an active community group. McLean County Community Compact and their Partners in Prevention; Project OZ, Chestnut Healthcare Systems and Heartland Coalition for Youth and Families are all proud supporters of the TiPs program.

Job-Readiness Training Program

McLean County Community Compact implemented the Job Readiness Training Program for "at-risk" youth for the first time in spring of 2003. Participating students were able to gain significant knowledge related to the work world. Compact council members from the business community presented the skills training topics for the youth. McLean County Community Compact has worked extensively with Youth Impact Inc., the McLean County juvenile Justice Council; to develop this program. The trainees participate in a 6-week training program that highlights job-readiness skills such as: customer service, attitude, punctuality, personal appearance, resume writing, working with others, and solving workplace conflicts. The training sessions also provide a safe environment for trainees to gather and learn and concluded with mock interviews and an opportunity to participate in a job shadowing experience. This program has been well received in the community because it tackles growing concerns of gang violence in the area and addresses an important issue of workforce development. COMPACT also presents this program to various other community groups.

Employment within Business

McLean County Community Compact in collaboration with Mackinaw Valley Special Education has been working to develop and expand the job opportunities for people with developmental disabilities in McLean County. The goal of the project is to establish a comprehensive support system that focuses on development of competitive employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. The primary focus is on youth and young adults as they transition from school to the world of work. The Compact provides the link to businesses within the county that will participate in the development and expansion of these transition jobs. The project has had a lot of success developing the community support system and getting people with developmental disabilities hired.

Community and Economic Development

McLean County Community Compact works within communities in the county and the East Central Region to foster growth and development within those communities. Community Swaps are one of the innovative programs that Compact facilitates. This program allows participating citizens to "swap" communities and evaluate the other community. This allows citizens to see the community with new eyes. This program also allows for positive changes in the community. Strategic Planning is another tool communities use to facilitate community and economic growth. The Compact staff works with the community to develop and implement a plan. The process begins with visioning sessions involving the entire community. Priorities for development within the community are identified and small committees begin to evaluate the needs and assets the community has to offer. The committees devise goals, objectives, strategies, and action plans in order to pave the way for future growth.

Peaceful Schools Project

On October 19, 2004, The McLean County Community Compact hosted the first meeting of the Peaceful Schools Project committee. This committee, brought together and chaired by Barbara Stuart, will work to introduce training in peace skills to every child, from Pre-K to grade 12 in McLean County, using violence prevention curriculum such as Second Stepâ: a Violence Prevention Curriculum and Steps to Respectâ: a Bullying Prevention Program offered by the Committee for Children. The award-winning Second Step program teaches social and emotional skills for violence prevention. The program includes teacher-friendly curricula, training for educators, and parent-education components and is based on more than 15 years of classroom application and the most current academic, social, and emotional research. The Peaceful Schools project will also explore the concept of having laws that require this of all teacher-training and emphasize areas not covered by current state proposals for positive change, sustainability, and needs assessment for the Peaceful Schools project. The committee will also implement a pilot program in Unit 5 to begin in the fall of 2005.