Business partnerships are an essential component of career and technical education (CTE) programs.  These partnerships offer many opportunities to work collaboratively with local businesses and industries. They help make meaningful connections between the classroom and career opportunities with local companies for students in the Rogers Public Schools (RPS). Partnerships also help to prepare students for jobs that are needed to meet current and projected high demand workforce areas in Northwest Arkansas.

In recent years, business partnerships with local companies have resulted in several new initiatives and career opportunities that have benefited both the students and teachers. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that have arisen, RPS has committed to finding new avenues and solutions that will continue to provide meaning career connections through new and existing partnerships with local companies. This year, students are attending on-site, virtual and blending learning environments.

To ensure that all students have access to career opportunities within the diverse and transitional learning environments, RPS has been working with local companies to implement the following initiatives via partnerships:

Virtual Company Tours
Increasing awareness of local companies and career opportunities that each company offers is an integral part of preparing students for jobs that will help meet current and projected workforce demands. These tours help guide students to the career programs that they can take in high school to gain the knowledge and skills needed for different types of jobs.

Partnership Opportunity: RPS is interested in partnering with local companies to obtain a video or presentation that introduces students to your company, the products and/or services provided, and career opportunities. The videos will allow access for students, parents and teachers through each of the learning environments to learn more about local companies.

Virtual Work Experiences
Employees within many companies have transitioned from working in a company office to working remotely at home or other locations since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring. Although, this transition has resulted in fewer on-site work-based learning opportunities and internships, it has introduced many new avenues for our students and teachers to gain valuable experience and skills needed to navigate and work within virtual workspaces and environments.

Partnership Opportunity: RPS is seeking opportunities for students to learn more about different types of jobs that are available within the virtual or remote workplace environments. They are particularly interested in working with local companies to provide 11th-12th grade students work-based learning experiences that would simulate remote workplace environments. This could be a project or task provided to an individual or team of students, which could be completed remotely under
the guidance and direction of a company representative. Projects such as webpage development, social media, mobile applications development, presentation, research and report, data input, etc.

Virtual Classroom Presentations
Inviting representatives into the CTE classrooms has been an essential part of making connections to local companies, essential job skills and career opportunities in previous years. The current limitations and challenges of in-person presentations has opened new avenues of achieving the same goal through virtual presentations.

Partnership Opportunity: RPS is interested in partnering with local companies to schedule virtual classroom presentations that will introduce students to local companies, job skills and career opportunities.

The Rogers Public Schools invites local companies to explore partnerships that will help make connections between the Launch Career Program classrooms, local companies and career opportunities in the Northwest Arkansas region. Please contact Dawn Stewart, Director of Career and Technical Education at (479) 636-3910 to learn more about virtual partnership opportunities that will facilitate learning and student engagement within all learning environments.

It is the policy of Rogers Public Schools not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap in its vocational programs, services or activities as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. 

Es norma del distrito de Rogers Public Schools no discriminar por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo o impedimento, en sus programas, servicios o actividades vocacionales, tal como lo requieren el Título VI de la Ley de Deprechos Civiles de 1964, según enmienda; el Título IX de las Emmiendas en la Educación, de 1972, y la Sección 504 de la Ley de Rehabilitación de 1973, según enmienda.