Shown from left to right: Tyler Boddeker and Andrea Boddeker, with Brooks Screen Printing; Dr. Heather Hayes, Waterville Community Elementary principal; and Sherry Crye, Chamber Workforce Development director.
The Chamber’s newest BEST partnership is a relationship between Waterville Community Elementary and Brooks Screen Printing. “School and business partnership is a necessity in education and the eventual economic future of our community,” states Dr. Heather Hayes, Waterville Community Elementary principal. “In this partnership with Brook's Printing, I am anxious to bring a STEM focus to our Waterville Community. Their background will allow our students to see science, technology, engineering, and math at work in the real world.”
BEST, the acronym for Business & Education Serving Together, is a program of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce that unites the efforts of a business and a selected school for the betterment of both.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Waterville Community Elementary in helping young students build a deeper love and understanding of STEM. We believe students benefit when they can connect what they learn from teachers to everyday skills and occupations,” said Andrea Boddeker, owner Brooks Screen Printing. “This is such a wonderful opportunity and we appreciate the Chamber providing the framework for what we know will be a successful relationship.”
Sherry Crye, the Chamber’s director of workforce development says, “Our BEST Partnership program is but one example of the role our businesses play in developing our future leaders and workforce. We are glad these businesses see the importance of the business world partnering with educators, as we all strive to produce the most qualified workforce of tomorrow for Cleveland and Bradley County.”
Each public school in the Bradley County and Cleveland City School Systems has one or more local business partners. Contact Sherry with the Chamber for more information, at 423-472-6587.