Educational Entrepreneurship: Promoting Public-Private Partnerships for the 21st Century

School superintendents, business managers, central office leaders, elected officials, industry leaders, educators, and aspiring practitioners in the field of education will find this book a useful resource in understanding innovative ways to stretch limited school resources or to improve the scope and quality of services and programs offered to deserving students. Approaching educational entrepreneurship by leveraging public and private partnerships is the primary focus throughout the book. Where available, real-world examples from school districts across the country are presented to provide the reader with ideas to consider and potentially emulate. Appreciating that there are innumerable ways for school leadership to pursue entrepreneurialism, chapters that represent a wide cross-section of common areas of educational practice were selected for inclusion. It should not be surprising, then, that such topics as curriculum development, educational technology, cooperative purchasing, higher education relationships, grant writing, foundation planning, and special education service delivery were all examined as potential public-private partnership opportunities. Improving schools in the twenty-first century will require new ways of approaching age-old challenges, not the least of which centers on increasingly scarce public funding. In response, the authors invite all readers to join the quest of applying the principles of entrepreneurship to schools to make them even stronger for the next generation.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Nicholas D. Young and Peter J. Bittel Chapter 1 Applying Entrepreneurship to American Public Education Marc Dean Millot Chapter 2 Exploring Public-Private Partnerships for Curriculum and Instruction JoAnn Cox Chapter 3 New Income Streams for School Districts: Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Promote Grant Writing, Pursue Foundation Funding, and Expand Corporate Relationships Nicholas D. Young, Lynne M. Celli, and Richard Roque Chapter 4 Promoting Partnerships in Cooperative Purchasing and Shared Services Richard Labrie Chapter 5 Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Opportunities in K–12 Technology Nicholas D. Young, Elizabeth Jean, and Christine N. Michael Chapter 6 Improved Outcomes for Students With Associated Cost Avoidance: Proven Solutions for Special Education Programs Peter J. Bittel, Michael R. Neiman, Brian Edwards, and Erin K. EdwardsChapter 7 Educating and Economizing: Innovative K–12/Higher Education Partnerships Nicholas D. Young, Christine N. Michael, and Elizabeth Jean Chapter 8 Understanding the Relationship: School Facilities Management and the Learning Process Richard Labrie Chapter 9 Bridging the Great Divide: School-to-Work Transition for Special Education Students Using a Social Entrepreneurial Model Pat W. Wear II and Leslie L. Wilson About the Primary Authors About the Chapter Authors

About the Author :
Dr. Nicholas D. Young has worked in diverse roles in education for more than twenty-five years, serving as a director of student services, principal, graduate professor, dean, and superintendent of schools. He has published and presented widely on a variety of topics in education and psychology. A sampling of some of most recently co-authored and co-authored/co-edited books include “Learning Style Perspectives: Impact Upon the Classroom (3rd ed)” (2014), “Collapsing Educational Boundaries from Preschool to PhD” (2013), “Betwixt and Between: Understanding and Meeting the Social and Emotional Development Needs of Students During the Middle School Transition Years” (2013), and “Transforming Special Education Practices: A Primer for School Administrators and Policy-Makers” (2012). Dr. Peter J. Bittel is cofounder and chief executive officer of Futures Education, a company providing special education and clinical services and management to school districts across the country. He is a speech and language pathologist and has more than thirty-five years of executive leadership experience in the areas of special education, rehabilitation, and developmental disabilities. He is the President of the Board of Trustees at American International College and was the co-author/co-editor of “Transforming Special Education Practices: A Primer for School Administrators and Policy-Makers” (2012).

Review :
Today, school districts are facing declining enrollments, underfunded state and federal mandates, and stringent budgets. To make the most of their limited funding, schools can create meaningful public-private partnerships with local and even global businesses and foundations. The nine articles in Educational Entrepreneurship offer workable solutions to help school administrators, policy makers, and business leaders find alternative ways to pay for education in the 21st century. This specialized title is appropriate for professional collections serving school administrators. In an effort to meet the demands of tighter budgets and declining enrollments, school districts are reaching out to the public and private sector to develop new and creative ways to expand funding resources. This book provides districts and their leadership with a wealth of information to develop partnerships that expand opportunities for staff and students. Simultaneously these business-foundation-education partnerships emerge at a critical time when business executives feel an urgency to develop a world-class workforce that can compete in a global marketplace. Educational Entrepreneurship: Promoting Public-Private Partnerships for the 21st Century serves as an excellent guide for future planning. In an ever-changing world, Educational Entrepreneurship: Promoting Public-Private Partnerships for the 21st Century explores alternatives to budget shortfalls and limited educational funds coupled with increasing state and federal mandates that are often largely underfunded or not funded at all. Kudos to authors Young and Bittel for building an awareness of the focused need for school districts to strongly consider seeking public and private partnerships for the benefits of cooperative purchasing, shared services, and other creative ways to maximize fiscal resources without straining to maintain status quo year after year after year. This new concept must be shared with school superintendents, curriculum leaders, financial managers, administrators, boards of education, and boards of finance members to uncover the benefits of distributed interest; educational entrepreneurship marries business and education. Stop the budget struggle and know that everyone can be part of the solution to improve K–12 education—now more than ever! Educational Entrepreneurship: Promoting Public-Private Partnerships for the 21st Century is bursting with innovation! The text expertly details a pioneering philosophy centered around the 21st-century economic stability of America’s school systems. Unquestionably, the discussed practices clearly resonate with practitioners at every level, and the various chapters offer unique and thought-provoking perspectives on a subject that underscores all of education. It is a must read.