Business/Education Advisory Council (BEAC) Toolkit

Creating and Maintaining the Business Education/Advisory Council

The Business/Education Advisory Council (BEAC), an integral part of the Ford PAS program, serves as a supportive link between the school program and local businesses, community organizations, and institutions of higher education. The BEAC may help establish valuable contacts with organizations outside the school as well as assist with program planning, budgeting, fundraising, and public relations. BEAC members include business and industry representatives, faculty and staff of colleges and universities, community leaders, Ford PAS teachers, school administrators, and students and members of their families.

BEACs serve an especially important purpose in the creation of Coordinated Learning Experiences (CLEs) for students. CLEs link what students are learning in the Ford PAS curriculum with real-world applications in the fields of business, science, and technology. CLE activities—for example, observing a production line after an in-class simulation on management methods, listening to a scientist describe why biofuels are controversial after an in-class experiment on biomass, or tabulating data for a market research company after designing a survey for a class project—help students place their own learning in a realistic context and understand that education, for others as well as for themselves, continues beyond the confines of school and throughout one’s working life. The BEAC may provide volunteers to enrich classroom experiences, facilitate workplace and higher education learning opportunities for Ford PAS students, or help establish contacts with other organizations that can provide these opportunities.

This toolkit is designed to assist Ford PAS coordinators and teachers and their community partners in better understanding the contributions the BEAC can make and in helping them form and maintain an active, effective BEAC.

The resources found here are useful in creating and maintaining an effective BEAC. The BEAC Presentation, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets can be customized, depending on the needs of individual Ford PAS programs.


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