Home Home Home About Us Home About Us About Us About Us /links/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html /advertising/index.html /links/index.html /advertising/index.html /advertising/index.html /advertising/index.html About Us About Us /archives/index.html About Us /archives/index.html About Us /archives/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /links/index.html /survey/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html
HomeAbout UsAbout Us/links/index.html/advertising/index.html/advertising/index.html
About Us/archives/index.html/archives/index.html/subscribe/index.html/subscribe/index.html/survey/index.html/survey/index.html/survey/index.html/links/index.html

Cover Story
Spotlight On Schools
Featured Columnists
Letters
Books
Business of Education
Careers
Children's Corner
Colleges & Grad Schools
Commentary
Continuing Education
Editorials
Languages
Law & Education
MEDICAL UPDATE
MetroBEAT
Movies & Theater
Museums
Music, Art & Dance
Politics In Education
Special Education
Sports & Camps
Technology in Education
Travel
1995-2000
2001
2002
   
 
New York City
September 2002

PROFILES IN EDUCATION: CYNTHIA GREENLEAF
“My Kind of Town, Chicago Is . . .”
By Joan Baum, Ph.d.

If Chicago is not only her “kind of town” but her “kind of people too,” as the Sammy Cahn / Jimmy Van Heusen song has it, one reason for Cynthia Greenleaf may be the school-business collaboration program in the Chicago public schools, which she heads as Director of Partnerships for the Department of External Resources and Partnerships, otherwise known as CPS Futures Exchange.

Partnerships, a growing city-wide volunteer effort that involves both individuals and corporations in the schools, has the total support of the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, and of Mayor Richard M. Daley, notes Greenleaf. And why not: this past year half of all eighth graders scored above national norms in reading, whereas 6 years ago only one third did. But the heart of the Partnerships program lies in what is not easily quantifiable, as Greenleaf knows: enthusiasm on the part of the business community, starting with a firm signal from a company’s CEO, to be part of an annual effort to help transform the city’s public schools, from pre-K through high school. In turn, principals and teachers are increasingly taking advantage of organizations that volunteer services and material resources, which can take the form of tutoring, job shadowing, serving as principal for a day, speaking at career days, hosting site visits, providing books, computers, supplies, furniture, internships, summer jobs, and incentive awards. Volunteers, whether working on their own or in conjunction with their organizations, also serve as judges in citywide competitions, as tutors in math, science, reading and foreign languages, and as sponsors of college scholarships. No one, however, would seem to be more enthusiastic than Greenleaf herself–or more generous in crediting others in helping to implement the program. Her own rich and varied work experience reflects an extraordinary commitment to volunteerism and education.

Born in Chicago and raised nearby, Greenleaf earned her B.A. at Smith College and went on for an Ed. M. at Harvard and a J.D. at Georgetown Law. For much of her professional life she worked as an administrator in the academic world–most recently in New York as Assistant Provost at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and as Associate Vice President for Administration at Rockefeller University. In assuming the directorship of Partnerships in Chicago, a position that grew out of her role as Senior Advisor to the Chicago Schools Partners Program and before that as Chair (and continuing Trustee) of New York City’s Learning Leaders, Greenleaf has clearly shown that you can go home again. The nation has her head, but Chicago her heart.

She describes her work as administrative in the deepest sense of the word, as distinct from promotional. The idea of partnerships has already taken root, Greenleaf points out–Chicago is “unusually civically cooperative.” Her own focus, therefore, is not to advocate as much as to coordinate, to make sure that roots and branches grow in a manner beneficial to both businesses and schools. She sees herself as a kind of an impresario matchmaker, moving between school representatives and CEOs. The program’s strength is its voluntary nature, she emphasizes. No company has to contribute; no principal, no teacher, has to receive. But once partnerships take seed, it is Greenleaf’s careful tending that will ensure significant implementation. No one-shot visits for her. A meaningful presence in the schools means multiple engagements, careful vetting of participants, timely and well-publicized events celebrating those who serve.

Key to Partnerships is the company CEO, who must visit the school every year; employees generally lead volunteer activities several times a year. A “passport” allows for visits to proceed efficiently. The passport indicates what a volunteer wants and can do, depending on the level of education (different colored passports exist for K-3, 4-6, 7-8, and H.S.). If the Alliance Francaise has a group of 8 people who would go into any of the 50 participating elementary schools for three visits, for example, the passport makes such matches easier, noting that volunteers are qualified and teachers receptive.

What’s in it for the corporations? Aside from pleasure of doing pro-bono work (with tax advantages), the corporations enhance their image by being seen as school partners. Special recognition Honor Rolls and Dean’s Lists prominently advertise participation, and it becomes a kind of social cachet at cocktail parties to ask “and what school are you supporting?” Anyone ought to drink to that.#

Name:
E-mail:
Comments:

Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2002.


SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS
DIRECTORIES